The Warrior and the Peacemaker
by Michael The-Zorch Haney
Summary: After a huge argument Ranma decides to leave the Dojo, and to his surprise Kasumi wants to go with him...
1. Chapter 1

DISCLAIMER: "Ranma 1/2" is a registered trademark and copyright of Viz Communications, Kitty Productions, Shogakugan, Inc., and Rumiko Takahashi. All Rights Reserved. "Tenchi Muyo! Ryo-Ohki" is a registered trademark and copyright of Pioneer, LDC., AIC, Inc., and Kajishima Masaki. All Rights Reserved. All other random Anime characters belong to their own specific trademark and copyright holders whomever they may be.  
  
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NOTES & SUMMARY: I myself am a Pro-Ranma+Akane person myself, but I love to read a good Alternate Pairing or AU fic, and I especially love crossovers. Of all the pairings out there I found the least amount were Ranma+Kasumi fics, and many of those weren't very good. Or, they were incomplete and haven't been worked on in years. In some small way I can see Ranma with Kasumi, so I decided to throw my two cents in and write this story. If you're looking for a fic with Akane-bashing, look elsewhere. I originally thought of using some earthquake scenario to throw them together, but that's way overused. Coming up with something original is very difficult when you got so many others writing stories about the same characters. I am trying my best and hope you really enjoy reading this story as much as I enjoyed writing it.  
  
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THE WARRIOR AND THE PEACEMAKER  
  
by Michael "TheZorch" Haney  
  
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Chapter 1: Heartache and A New Life  
  
"RANMA!"  
  
All seemed quiet and peaceful, relatively, at the Tendo dojo. That was until the ear piercing scream of the youngest of the three Tendo sisters cut through the air like a well thrown shuriken. Saotome Ranma winced while sitting in his usual "thinking" spot on the roof of the Tendo house. He knew exactly what set the girl off today, it was an incident at school involving Shampoo, a bowl of ramen, and a fair sized helping of Amazon love potion. The amorous Amazon had laced the ramen with love potion, but miscalculated the dosage and did not make it quite strong enough to last on Ranma for very long. It did, however, last just long enough for Shampoo to get that kiss she wanted out of her Airen, and right in front of the entire student body no less. This caused a series of events to take place like a domino effect. First, Kuno comes in for the attack accusing Ranma of preying on the affections of the fair Akane, Ryoga witnessed the lip lock and went on a rampage accusing Ranma of two timing Akane, and Akane herself was not too please either. By the time the fights with Kuno and Ryoga were over, Ranma retreated back to the Tendo place to avoid confronting Akane. She had been really angry this time around, and more and more she was refusing to listen to his side of the story.  
  
The only one who would listen to him was Kasumi. She sat with him for a time listening to his account of what happened that day, and even she admitted it was not his fault. So, why did everyone seem to think otherwise? Why was everything that ever happened around him always his fault? All of it was wearing thin on the Saotome youth, just when he thought he almost had Akane figured out she throws another temper tantrum again and throws off everything he thought he knew about her.  
  
"Ranma, I know you're up there!" Akane yelled from below. "If you know what's good for you you'll come down here, NOW!"  
  
Ranma sighed, resigning himself to his fate. "Awe, man, why me?" Quickly he leapt down form the roof and slowly walked up to face his fuming iinazuke.  
  
"So, you got anything to say for yourself, Ranma?" she asked him standing with her hands on her hips.  
  
"It wasn't my fault, I didn't know she put anything in that bowl, honest Akane." he tried pleading but knew it would not do him any good.  
  
"If you hadn't been thinking with your stomach instead of your brains it never would have happened!" Akane shot back at him angrily.  
  
"I'm sorry, I was hungry, geeze." he replied.  
  
"You kissed her, you kissed Shampoo in front of the whole school!" Akane fumed. "Do you have idea what kind of rumors are going around school now?"  
  
Ranma rolled his eyes and envisioned the face of Tendo Nabiki smirking at him as she counted a wad of cash in her hand big enough to choke a T-Rex. "I can only imagine."  
  
"HE KISSED WHOM?" screamed Soun in his Demon's Head form. Ranma cringed away from the sudden appearance of the apparition and fell backwards into the koi pond. Seconds late a very soggy Ranma-chan climbed out and began to wring out her clothes. It was a moot point as her father suddenly came running.  
  
"What the hell were you thinking, boy!?" the man, come panda, shouted as he shoved Ranma back into the pond.  
  
"It wasn't my-" she tried to shout back but was interrupted as a mallet of chi energy suddenly struck her and sent the red head flying.  
  
"RANMA NO BAKA!"  
  
Kasumi watched all of this from the sitting room and winced as Akane sent Ranma air born again. Slowly she retreated to the kitchen and looked around to make sure nobody was around to see or hear her. The tears came swiftly and her shoulders shook as the eldest of the three Tendo sisters cried. Her tears were not for herself, but for the poor young man who was being victimized by her family day in and day out because of an agreement made by her father and Uncle Saotome, and also because her own foolishness. Almost a year ago, when Ranma arrived, she and her sister Nabiki literally threw Akane at the young man. Kasumi thought she knew what she wanted in a man, and this boy who transforms into a girl was not it. She was interested in the handsome young doctor Tofu Ono. As time went by and Kasumi got to know Saotome Ranma she began to realized her error, for despite his many faults and his curse Ranma was a noble, kind hearted, and thoughtful young man. He worried about others, always tried to do the right thing even though it usually blew up in his face most of the time, and never let a friend down when they were in trouble. His promises were as good as gold and on more than one occasion he fought to protect the Tendo dojo from danger, and almost as many times saved Akane from similar fates.  
  
How she wished she could comfort the young man in her arms and tell him everything was going to be alright, that the abuse he received all the time was finally over. But, she felt too strong a commitment to her younger sister to even contemplate trying to win Ranma from her. She would be betraying Akane that way, and she could not bring herself to do that. That had been many months ago, and as time went by that resolve started to break down. No longer could Tendo Kasumi stand by in the background and allow this to continue. She was not certain how to go about doing this, though. It was a mistake to think that Tendo Kasumi was not very smart or otherwise clueless. She was almost as cunning as her middle sister Nabiki, but hid it behind her pleasant mannerism and kind personality. Kasumi was a gentle girl by nature who did not really approving of fighting unless it was necessary. That was probably why she did not study the art for very long unlike Nabiki who studied until she was about twelve years old.  
  
Akane hated boys, she hated them with a passion. Kasumi knew why, it was because of her experience with Kuno Tatawaki. The infamous, moronic Blue Thunder of Furinken High School spoiled Akane towards boys forever with his Hentai Horde, declaring that he would only allow someone to date her if they could defeat her in a fight. Kasumi never heard of anything more idiotic in her entire life. Akane's life was made a living hell every morning because of that one brainless twit, and her attitude towards males her age was ruined. Ranma's arrived was both a blessing and a curse to Akane. He did stop the Hentai Horde from attacking her every morning. Nobody in their right mind wanted to go up against a martial artist of Ranma's caliber, but unfortunately Kuno was not exactly in his right mind so he kept being a problem. Kasumi just could not understand why Akane failed to realize just how good she had it with Ranma. He ended all the insanity that surrounded her life caused by the Kuno boy, but of course a series of new insane situations arrived with him though. Yet, through it all Ranma protected Akane, despite how often she hit him or called him names he always protected her and put himself at risk for her. How could Akane be so blind?, Kasumi asked herself over and over again.  
  
The eldest Tendo sister heard a sound at the back door and looked up to see a very battered Ranma-chan shamble into the house. She was not sure how far Akane had belted him this time, usually it was not too far, usually. Since Ranma's arrival Kasumi made it a habit to keep a few things within easy reach. One was a kettle of warm, not hot, water for those occasions Ranma came home in his transformed state, and the other was a fully-equipped first aid kit she kept under the kitchen sink. Kasumi dried her hands from washing the dishes and retrieve the first aid kit as Ranma walked into the sitting room and plopped down at the table.  
  
"That baka tomboy!" Ranma-chan muttered under her breath. "She didn't have to hit me so hard, it wasn't my fault, I didn't invite Ukyo to glomp me."  
  
"You are right, it wasn't your fault Ranma." Kasumi said while sitting down with the first aid kit and kettle in hand. She promptly poured the warm water over the lovely, yet battered, red head triggering the transformation became to his male form.  
  
"But Akane never lets me tell my side of the story." Ranma said in an exasperated tone. He winced a little when Kasumi dabbed at the sores on his face with an alcohol soaked cotton ball.  
  
"She really is a sweet girl Ranma." Kasumi told him. She was not sure why she was defending her sister except out of loyalty and love. Despite all she has done to Ranma, Kasumi could never hate Akane. She could be very disappointed with her youngest sister, but she could never hate her.  
  
"She's about as sweet as a brick in the face." Ranma grumbled then winced as Kasumi cleaned another cut.  
  
Kasumi sighed. "I really do not understand my sister at times."  
  
"What do you mean?" Ranma asked her. Of all the girls Ranma knew he felt the most comfortable around Kasumi. He was not sure why, yes she was beautiful, maybe more beautiful than most of the girls he knew who were after him, but unlike them she was not out to get something from him.  
  
"There is an old saying from America that says 'you never realize what it is you have until it is gone'." Kasumi replied.  
  
Ranma looked at her with a confused expression. Kasumi wanted to sigh in exasperation but this was one of the quirks about Saotome Ranma that endeared her to him. Everyone thought she was the clueless one, when in truth Ranma was sometimes even more clueless than most people thought she was.  
  
"What do you think would happen if one day you suddenly were not around anymore?" she asked him. "How do you think Akane would feel?"  
  
"She'd be dancing in the streets." he replied sadly.  
  
Kasumi gave him a thoughtful smile. "I think she may realize that she has been taking you for granted." she said. "She will look back on her life before you came along and find that her life was much better off when you were around."  
  
Ranma laughed at that. "Kasumi, I know what you're trying to do, but I know Akane would be much happier if I wasn't around."  
  
"You don't really know that Ranma." she said, the desire to take the boy into her arms was becoming overwhelming.  
  
Her heart sank when she saw tears threaten to form in the boy's eyes for only a moment when he said, "Then answer me this, why does she hate me so much?"  
  
Kasumi decided it was time to start probing the young man, to see just how much he like Akane. "Do you love Akane?" she asked him.  
  
Ranma looked away and sighed. "I thought I did." Kasumi's heart leaped but at the same time she felt sadness for her sister. Akane needed Ranma much more than she did, the young girl needed to learn to love and trust boys again, but it looked like that was not going to happen.  
  
Not wanting to put Ranma on the defensive by seeming too obvious about her intentions, Kasumi quickly finished cleaning Ranma's remaining wounds. "There, all done, you should go and take a bath now the furo should be full." she told him.  
  
"Kasumi."  
  
"Yes Ranma."  
  
"Thanks."  
  
Weeks went by and very little changed in the Tendo dojo. Kasumi watched idly by as Ranma suffered more abuse from her family. It was shameful how her father and Uncle Saotome were pushing Ranma into being nicer to Akane, but they did not say a thing to Akane about being nicer to Ranma. The young man always had a huge appetite around dinner time, but Kasumi noticed that was starting to wain and it concerned her. Then, one day something happened that nearly pushed Kasumi to the edge. She was never prone to violence but on that day she wanted to strike Akane for her stupidity.  
  
Ranma and Akane came home yelling at one another. Kasumi caught enough of the argument to understand it was about Ukyo. Apparently the nice Okonomiyaki chef, who was one of Ranma's iinazuke because of his baka father, wanted Ranma to help out at her shop for a few days because she was redecorating the place. Akane accused Ranma was making up the story so he could spend a romantic evening with the girl, Ranma tried to convince her otherwise but Akane just would not listen.  
  
Kasumi continued to work on dinner, cutting a tube root when she heard Ranma shout the question, "What's the matter, don't you trust me?"  
  
She suddenly dropped the knife and gasped when Akane shouted in reply, "I will never trust you, perverts can't be trusted ever!" She went quickly to the kitchen doorway and looked in on the two. Ranma had the most hurt expression on his face she had ever seen. Akane did not trust him, she would never trust him. She had said so right then and there to his face. Kasumi's heart was breaking as Ranma stepped back away from Akane who looked at him, her face a mask of hatred.  
  
Ranma's face suddenly became very calm and he said, "Then we've nothing more to say to one another Tendo Akane." He turned around and went to the stairs to the upper floor leaving Akane where she was looking extremely confused at this sudden change in the young martial artist.  
  
"Akane, you really shouldn't have said that to him like that." Kasumi scolder her. It took nearly all of her will to keep from slapping the young girl in the face.  
  
"He had it coming." she muttered.  
  
"Don't you ever take Ranma's feeling into consideration, don't you think that maybe you're hurting his feelings with the thing you say to him like that?" Kasumi asked.  
  
"Why should I care what he thinks or feels!" Akane shouted.  
  
Akane, you are being such a fool, Ranma will not put with this forever, and one day he is going to leave you and then what will you do., Kasumi wanted to say that but her youngest sister was in too far a bad mood for it at the moment. She knew in her heart Akane would never hit her in anger, but she would certainly yell, very loud. Akane stomped off towards the bathroom without saying any more. Kasumi looked up the stairs and wondered what Ranma was doing. She went up to his room and found the young man huddle up in a corner of his room looking as if the world was about to come crashing down around his head.  
  
"Ranma?" she called to him from the doorway.  
  
"You can come in Kasumi." he told her.  
  
"I'm so sorry about what Akane said, but when she's angry she tends to say things she does not mean." Kasumi said reassuringly.  
  
Ranma did not look at her when he said, "No Kasumi, she meant what she said, I could see it in her eyes."  
  
"She doesn't love me, she hates me, she doesn't trust me." he want on. "Our parents were insane to think this thing could work out. At one time I though we were getting close, ya know, I though we were getting better but then that thing with the ramen happened and then today Ukyo asked for my help and Akane just flew off the handle over it."  
  
"I can't go on like this, Kasumi, there is only so much I'm willing to take but this is it." he continued. "My pop and your dad can go to hell for all I care, I ain't gonna marry Akane the way she is. I'd rather be dead than be stuck with that bitch the rest of my life."  
  
"Ranma!" Kasumi chided him for his language, but deep inside she could not blame him.  
  
"What are you going to do?" she then asked him.  
  
Ranma shrugged. "I don't know, leave most likely, in the middle of the night so my pop doesn't notice I'm gone until he wakes his fat ass up out of bed in the morning."  
  
"Ranma, please don't leave, I'm sure things will get better." she was panicking now, she could not let him leave not while she had a chance. She wanted to run to him now and hold him and take away all the sadness in his heart but she had to wait. If she came on too strong she'd only drive him away.  
  
"You're always the optimist Kasumi." he said smiling at her with a weak smile.  
  
She knelt down next to him and pleaded, "If you do leave, please don't do it tonight, give it a few more days."  
  
"I don't know how much longer I'll be able to take it here." he told her. "I'm sorry Kasumi but I can't, I'm leaving tonight."  
  
Kasumi's heart shattered into pieces, but the glimmer of hope still shined brightly within her. A sudden thought born out of desperation came to her mind. She knew that if she did what she was contemplating there would likely be no turning back. Her father would be outraged at her behavior, Akane would be shocked, she could not bring herself to think that her father would disown her for what she was thinking of doing but she knew him well enough to know he would be very disappointed in her. Nabiki would probably understand, Kasumi was well aware of the fact that she too had a small crush on Akane's iinazuke. Looking at Ranma's face, that wonderful face, those sad, beautiful blue eyes, she made her decision and did not care what the consequences might be.  
  
"Take me with you."  
  
"Nani?" he looked at her in surprise.  
  
"Take me with you." she said again, taking his hands in hers.  
  
Ranma's eyes shot wide open in shock and surprise. He would have backed away from her but could not, even though he was hundreds of times stronger than the gentle woman. There was something holding him back from leaping to his feet and running away.  
  
"K-K-Kasumi?" he stammered in his shocked state of mind.  
  
"Ranma, I-I-I love you." she admitted. If it were possible Ranma's jaw would have dropped and made a hole in floor, as it was he just looked at her in disbelief.  
  
"I've been in love with you for some time now, but I have held back my feelings because I held such hopes that things would work out between you and Akane." she went on to explain in her soft voice. "All I have ever wanted for you was to be happy, I prayed every night that Akane would come to her senses one day and realize her feelings for you."  
  
"But-" she interrupted him putting her finger to his lips.  
  
"I know that the last thing you need in your life is another iinazuke, and I am not asking you to marry me." she went on. "I will not be like the other women in your life, I will not force you into something you do not want. All I ask is to be given a chance, a fair chance at your heart and nothing more. If someday in the future you want to marry me I will gladly accept, but above all I just want to give you all the happiness you deserve. You have had so little of it in you're life, you deserve to be the one who has happiness for once."  
  
"But, what about your father, and Akane?" he asked her.  
  
Kasumi gave him a soft, sad smile. "Father would be very disappointed in me, and Akane would likely be very angry."  
  
"Life on the road Kasumi is hard, really hard, I know I've been on the road with my pop for ten years and it ain't no picnic." he told her.  
  
She squeezed his hands when she said, "I would be happy no matter where I am or what situation I am in as long as I am with you."  
  
"But I got enemies who are sure to come looking for me when they find out I'm gone, and I damn sure know those Amazons are gonna be on my trail too." he said trying to get the girl to change her mind.  
  
"Ranma, please, I have not wanted anything in the world as much as I want this." she pleaded with him, squeezing his hands tighter. "You have no idea how heartbreaking it has been watching our parent and my sister abuse you this past year."  
  
"I don't doubt your feeling for me Kasumi." Ranma smiled at her, it was that smile that turned every young girl's knees into jelly. "Are you sure this is what you want, its gonna be a really hard life on the road, and its gonna be really dangerous too."  
  
"I am willing to accept the risks." she said truthfully.  
  
Ranma smiled a soft smile and caressed Kasumi's hands with his fingers. "A few times I often wondered what would have happened if it was you I was engaged to instead of Akane from the beginning." he said.  
  
"We cannot change the past, but we can make our own future." Kasumi smiled back.  
  
"I do like you Kasumi, I like you a lot." he admitted. "I don't know if I love you, but I think that I could in time. Of all the girls I know you're the only who hasn't made big demands of me, you ain't trying to make me marry you, you ain't trying to bed me like Shampoo is, and you ain't clobbering me every few seconds like Akane. You care about me, you helped me through a lot of hard times."  
  
"Remember when Cologne gave me that C-C-C-Cat's Tongue?" he asked her.  
  
She nodded. "Yes, that was a very-interesting-time."  
  
"You were the one who helped me when I had that, uh, you know that thing with the blood and stuff." he said blushing furiously.  
  
"Its called a Period." she said with a smile.  
  
"Y-Yeah, that, Akane wouldn't help but you did." he said. "I was hurting, I felt icky and bloated, and you were there at my side through all of it."  
  
"It was around that time that I began to realize my feelings for you." she admitted to him.  
  
"Are you sure this is absolutely what you want?" he asked her.  
  
"All I ask for is a chance, if it does not work between us I will return to Nerima and my family and face whatever consequences they choose to give me." Kasumi told him, firm resolve in her voice and expression.  
  
"Ok, I'm leaving at midnight when everybody is asleep." he told her. "Pack light, only what you can carry and nothing more cause we're gonna have to be out of Nerima by sunrise."  
  
Kasumi nodded. "I have some money saved up in a jar in my room."  
  
"How much?" he asked her.  
  
"I think about ten thousand yen or so." she replied, thinking. "I have been saving a little bit here and there for a while now."  
  
Ranma smiled at her. "It'll help, I can get about forty thousand out of my pop's stash, the baka couldn't hide anything from me to save his worthless furry butt."  
  
Kasumi giggled. "I would say it was not appropriate to speak of your father that way, but somehow it does not seem worth it anymore."  
  
That made Ranma smiled. "At midnight meet me at the gates." he said quietly, Ranma's keen hearing was picking up the sounds of life in the house downstairs. "Remember bring only what you can carry with you, ok."  
  
Kasumi nodded, then lift Ranma's right hand to her lips and kissed it. "I will." she said. The eldest Tendo sister slowly got up and left the room. Ranma watched her go and imagined what his life with her would be like. He would never have to worry about Akane's toxic cooking anymore, that was for sure, and she was so sweet and gentle. It almost seemed a crime to take her away from her family and thrust her into a harsh life on the road. He was used to it, he could survive out there in the wilderness out in the middle of nowhere, but all she has ever known is a life in the relative comfort of the Tendo home. Who was he to put her though that, but she was willing to endure it all just so she could be with him and bring some happiness into his life. She was right, she was nothing like the other girls. They all wanted something from him, marriage, children, prestige, but Kasumi only wanted him to give her a chance and nothing more. It was totally up to him if he wanted to marry her or not one day, it was totally his decision, not his pop's, not Mr. Tendo's, not his mother's either.  
  
He sat up on the floor and sighed. "Man, is tonight gonna be interesting or what."  
  
* * *  
  
Ranma did not have to wait long at the gates for Kasumi. She came out of the house quietly with a duffel bag over her shoulder and an umbrella in her hand. The two of them said nothing as they turned to look at the Tendo home for the last time, then turned towards the gates and stepped through onto the sidewalk beyond the wall. Kasumi reached out and took Ranma's hand, and he did not flinch away from her. He squeezed her hand gently, then together they walked away from the Tendo residence and did not look back.  
  
* * *  
  
"Kasumi! Kasumi! Where is that girl?"  
  
"What's the matter, daddy?" Nabiki asked her father who was wandering around the house calling out her older sister's name. She walked down the stairs, the sound of her father's yelling had woken her up, and today was not a school day.  
  
"She's not in the kitchen, and it looks like none of the pots and pans were ever touched since she washed them last night." Akane said when she emerged from the kitchen.  
  
"My little girl, where's my little girl!?" Soun began to sob, spraying down the sitting room with a geyser of tears.  
  
"Akane, have you seen Ranma?" Genma asked as he literally ran down the stairs.  
  
"You mean he's missing too?" Akane gasped.  
  
"All of his clothes are missing and so is his back pack." Genma told them.  
  
Akane headed for the stairs. "I'll check Kasumi's room, maybe she isn't feeling well and decided to sleep in late."  
  
"Kasumi, sick, when was the last time that ever happen." said Nabiki who never remembered a day that her older sister ever got so sick that she abandoned her duties around the house.  
  
Akane's scream from upstairs drew the attention of everyone in the house and they all ran up the stairs. Akane was standing in the middle of Kasumi's bedroom, the young teenaged Tendo sister's face was white with shock.  
  
"K-K-Kasumi's closet is empty and so are half her dresser drawers." she said in surprise. Nabiki slid past her sister and began to examine the room. On inspiration she kneeled down and looked under the bed.  
  
"She took her stash, Kasumi had about ten thousand yen in an old pickle jar under her bed." she announced.  
  
Akane just looked at her then looked around the room. "But, why?"  
  
"Put two and two together sis, Ranma's gone, and so is Kasumi." Nabiki told her in her usual analytical manner.  
  
Akane started shaking her head in disbelief. "No, no, NO!"  
  
"Ranma and Kasumi ran off together!" Genma gasped in disbelief.  
  
Akane's next scream make everyone cringe away from her, even Nabiki. "RANMA NO BAKA! THAT LOUSY NO GOOD TWO TIMING BACK STABBING PERVERT! HOW DARE HE RUN OFF WITH MY SISTER!"  
  
"My little girl, my poor little girl!" Soun continued to wail running around hosing the place down with tears.  
  
"I'm not at all surprised since Kasumi did have the hots for Ranma." Nabiki said casually.  
  
"Nani?" Akane said in wide eyed surprise.  
  
Nabiki smirked at her youngest sister and said, "Really Akane, you've got to be way more observant than that. Haven't you noticed how she looks at him, how she shivers sometimes when she sees him take off his shirt when he's sparing with his father in the yard? If I weren't an expert on body language, and I am, I'd say she had it bad for your iinazuke."  
  
"K-K-Kasumi wanted Ranma?" Akane said more than asked in a way that suggested she could hardly believe what she was hearing.  
  
"Why else would the both of them be gone at the same time, and despite what you may think of Ranma I don't believe he'd force her to go with him." Nabiki added. "She went willingly."  
  
"But-but-" Akane stammered.  
  
"Tendo, there's still hope!" Genma cheered. "Ranma and Akane didn't work out so maybe the boy and Kasumi will!" The fat man immediately regretted his words when he suddenly saw a huge mallet flying towards his face.  
  
"PANDA NO BAKA!"  
  
Akane watched in satisfaction as the giant tub of lard went flying out of the hole in the roof, but that brief moment of satisfaction was only just that, brief. She dispelled the mallet and ran to her room trailing tears. She threw herself on her bed and cried.  
  
"Why! Why Ranma! Kasumi, why!" she sobbed.  
  
Suddenly, her memory of the other day came crashing down on Akane like a ton of bricks. She had been thinking about what she had said to Ranma later that day and was almost regretting what she had said to him, but now the full gravity of her words and the consequence of them struck her all at once.  
  
"What's the matter, don't you trust me?" he had asked.  
  
"I will never trust you, perverts can't be trusted ever!" she had replied.  
  
Akane threw her hands to her face and wept. "Oh my Kami-sama, what have I done, what have I done! Ranma I'm so sorry, oh Kami-sama I'm so sorry! I didn't mean it! I didn't mean it!"  
  
"Akane?" came Nabiki's voice from the doorway.  
  
"It's all my fault, I drove him away Nabiki!" Akane cried, tears streaming down her face. The so called Ice Queen of Nerima walked in and sat down on the bed next to her younger sister. She wasn't sure what to say to her. She was not the least bit surprise that this happened, well, maybe a little. She knew Ranma well enough to know he would not stand by and take much more of the abuse he was getting. Even she backed off on using him so much and even actually got his permission before taking pictures of his female half to earn money for the dojo.  
  
"We all make mistakes Akane." she told her.  
  
"This isn't a mistake Nabiki, this is a total fuck up!" Akane yelled, and Nabiki raised an eyebrow for it was the first time she ever head her younger sister use such colorful language. "Why did I say that to him!?"  
  
"What happened, what did you do to Ranma this time?" Nabiki asked.  
  
Akane wiped the tears from her eyes before answering. "Ukyo I guess is redecorating her place and she asked if Ranma would help move some heavy things around for her, but I accused him of making up an excuse to be alone with her." she said.  
  
"That's what you usually accuse him of, what made this time different?" Nabiki asked her.  
  
"We argued all the way home, when we got home he asked me if I trusted him." she said.  
  
"And?" Nabiki asked her wanting to hear all of the story.  
  
"And-and, oh Nabiki, I told him I'd never trust him ever." Akane said, her sobs returned and she cried into her hands.  
  
"Oh Akane, why did you go and do something like that for?" Nabiki asked her in frustration.  
  
"I was angry, ok, I wasn't thinking." she replied.  
  
Nabiki put her hand on Akane shoulder and told her, "And now you've lost him because of that. Akane, Ranma isn't like those other boys at Furinken, I though you would have understood that by now."  
  
"What good does that do me now, he's gone and Kasumi went with him." Akane replied. "I can't believe it, my own sister running off with my iinazuke!"  
  
"It sure isn't typical Kasumi behavior, but then love does make people do crazy things." Nabiki replied.  
  
"What am I going to do now?" Akane said more than asked. "I think I was actually starting to fall in love with him, I am such a lousy baka! I don't deserve him, maybe I never did!"  
  
"Maybe it's best this way Akane." Nabiki told her softly.  
  
"Do you think they will ever come back?" Akane asked her sister.  
  
Nabiki shrugged her shoulders. "You never know, they might after a while, but you know Ranma he can survive anywhere even in the middle of nowhere."  
  
"But Kasumi, she's never lived like that before." Akane told her with concern in her voice. "Ranma is used to living a hard life, but Kasumi has barely ever been out of the house."  
  
Nabiki just smiled. "You and I know Ranma well enough to know he'd never let anything happen to Kasumi. His word is as good as gold, he's never let a friend down that was in need, and he's always come your rescue even at the expense of his own skin."  
  
"I hope they'll be alright out there." Akane said looking out her window and wondered where her sister and Ranma could be at that very moment.  
  
* * *  
  
"Masaki Tenchi?" Ranma said reading the name of the person on an envelop Kasumi had handed him. They sat together on a train that was taking them out of Tokyo and heading south. They had just enough money to buy two tickets and still had some petty cash left for emergencies, but it was not going to be much.  
  
"Hai, he is my third cousin on my mother's side of the family." Kasumi explained to him. "We have been pen pals for five years now."  
  
"And you say he can put us up for a while." Ranma looked at her.  
  
Kasumi gave him that smile that always seemed to warm his heart no matter what poor mood he was in. Damn, I never noticed before, but Kasumi is really cute., he said to himself. "His father is an architect and they have a very big house, it is just him and his father living there so I don't think he would have any problems taking us in." she said.  
  
"Although, recently I haven't received a letter her him." she went on. "The last letter I got from him was at a different address also, he was living in the city of Ohkayama, but then a few weeks later I got this letter and the address was outside Ohkayama."  
  
"People do move sometimes." he told her.  
  
Kasumi thought on that for a moment. "Hai, but dear Tenchi was almost always diligent on getting his letters to me." she said.  
  
"You say his grandfather is a Shinto priest?" Ranma asked.  
  
"Hai, Grandfather Katsuhito is so nice, you will love him." Kasumi smiled. "Although, Tenchi's father has something a little bit in common with Grandfather Happosai I'm afraid, but he isn't quite as bad though."  
  
Ranma groaned, "Oh great, more old perverts."  
  
"He isn't quite as, well, troublesome as Grandfather Happosai." Kasumi explained to him. "The worse he has done is try to sneak a peek at me when I was bathing the last time we went to visit."  
  
"Well, he'd better not peek when I'm around." Ranma growled. "EPP!" Ranma stiffened a little when Kasumi leaned against him and laid her head on his shoulder.  
  
"I'm so tired, been awake since we left home." she yawned. Ranma relaxed, remembering who it was he was with. Kasumi closed her eyes, she looked so beautiful like that he realized. Maybe, maybe I will be happy with her., he said inwardly.  
  
"Go ahead, get some rest, it'll be a while before we reach Ohkayama." he told her softly. "I'll wake you went we get to the station."  
  
"Ok." Kasumi slurred and she was instantly asleep.  
  
Ohkayama was a small rural community nestled in the mountains. The downtown area had few high rise buildings, and the many small communities where the people lived sprawled out in many different directions in the valley. The two travelers made a quick stop at an Internet coffee house and printed up a map to Tenchi's house from a map site on the web. From there it was a long bus ride to a stop that was literally out in the middle of nowhere. Ranma and Kasumi stepped off the bus and looked around at the scenery of the forest and down a trail that lead up to where Kasumi's cousin lived. Before they started however, a car speed by and hit a puddle of water at the side of the road. Ranma cringed feeling the tingling sensation through his body telling him his curse was triggered.  
  
"Oh my!" Kasumi gasped.  
  
"Figures." Ranma-chan groaned brushing the road muck off her Chinese shirt.  
  
"Are you alright Ranma?" she asked her.  
  
"Yeah, just a little wet." Ranma-chan said smiling at her. "Come on, lets go."  
  
The walk through the woods was not a long one, and was maybe a little relaxing actually. There were a number of cherry blossom trees along the sides of the path. Kasumi loved it, it was beautiful scenery, and she held Ranma's hand not even feeling the least bit awkward because he was currently a she at the time. They soon breached the trees and came out onto a small field across from which was a huge lake affording an incredibly breathtaking view of the mountains. The path lead to a fork that branched off in two direction, one path lead towards a large house that sat near the lake, and the other lead to a long series of steps that ran up the side of a mountain.  
  
"Those steps lead to Grandfather Katsuhito's shrine." Kasumi told Ranma-chan pointing in the direction of the path. "That is cousin Tenchi's house right over there."  
  
"I though you've never been here before he moved." Ranma-chan commented.  
  
"Oh I have been here before, but the house wasn't here the last time I visited." Kasumi explained. "That is the same house they had in Ohkayama. It must have been very expensive to move the house out here."  
  
"Geeze, this Tenchi kid must be loaded." Ranma-chan realized.  
  
"His father runs his own business designing people's homes." Kasumi told her. "There aren't many architects in Japan, so Uncle Noboyuki makes a great deal of money."  
  
Ranma-chan looked around, she did not hear the usual background roar of the city she was used to in Nerima. It was quiet and peaceful here. She could not remember the last time she was anywhere this peaceful before. She decided that if they were allowed to stay here for a while she was going to really enjoy the peace and quiet for once. That peace though, was suddenly shatter by the sound of a huge explosion.  
  
"Oh my!" Kasumi gasped.  
  
"Come back here Ryoko, you monster-woman!" cried a very singed looking woman in a kimono as she ran and waved her fist in the air. Ranma- chan and Kasumi both blinked, the girl had purple hair. That was not really all that strange since Shampoo's hair was also light purple, but what caught their attention was who the woman was chasing.  
  
"Ha ha, try and catch me your royal slow-pokeness!" laughed an extremely voluptuous woman with long, spiky cyan hair wearing a knee length blue and gold stripped dress. What was most unusual about this woman was the fact that she was flying several feet off the ground, and she had a tail?  
  
"What the-" Ranma-chan let out as she took this sight in, then she heard the most horrifying sound in the entire universe.  
  
"MIYA! Miya, miya, miya!"  
  
Kasumi's eyes went wide when Ranma-chan flew like a shot of lightning and hid behind her. "C-C-C-CAT!"  
  
Kasumi watched as a tiny creature scampered after the two women. Curiously it looked like a cross between a cat and a rabbit, it was the most adorable little creature she had ever seen. Running behind the little animal came a young girl of maybe eight or nine years old. Kasumi's heart skipped a beat, she was the most gorgeous and cutest little thing she had ever seen. The little girl has sky blue hair that hung down her sides in twin pony tails. Her outfit was a strange variant on a kimono and a dress with a large pink bow in the middle of her back.  
  
"Aeka, Ryoko, please stop, you know grandpa doesn't like it when you tear up the lawn fighting." the little girl called after the two.  
  
"I-I-Is this place usually this, crazy?" Ranma-chan asked after she finally recovered from her slight bout of cat phobia.  
  
"No, and I've never meet these girls before in my life." Kasumi shook her head.  
  
A tall, dark skinned blonde with the body of a supermodel came running by from the house, she saw the two standing on the path and immediately stopped in her tracks. Her blue eyes went wide and her face lit up into a mask of pure joy.  
  
"Hey everybody, we got visitors!" she shouted cheerfully..  
  
"Huh?" the girls named Aeka and Ryoko both said at the same time and looked back at the blonde.  
  
"Hello, are you here to visit the shrine?" the little girl asked Kasumi.  
  
"No, I am Tendo Kasumi, this is Saotome Ranma, we are here to see Masaki Tenchi." Kasumi replied with a bow.  
  
The cyan haired girl Ranma-chan guessed was the one named Ryoko suddenly appeared in front of them. Damn, she's fast, must be a martial artist., she guessed. "What do you two want with Tenchi, huh?" she asked angrily.  
  
"Ryoko, show some manners, these two young ladies are our guests." the purple haired girl who was named Aeka scolded her. Ranma-chan narrowed her eyes, she recognized the manner in which this Aeka was speaking, it sounded a lot like the way Kodachi usually spoke, all formal like.  
  
"Is cousin Tenchi at home, or Uncle Noboyuki?" Kasumi asked them.  
  
"Oh my, you mean you are related to Lord Tenchi?" Aeka asked her in surprise. Ranma-chan narrowed her eyes more at this woman, she was sounding a lot like Kodachi, only a little more sane.  
  
"Hai, he is my third cousin on my mother's side of the family." Kasumi said with a smile that reminded Aeka so much of her little sister. "We've come to pay him a visit and to perhaps ask him a small favor."  
  
"Ok, so you're related to Tenchi, but what about Red here?" Ryoko asked eying the cute red head suspiciously. Ranma recognized that look, Akane gave it to Shampoo and Ukyo quite a few times in the past. She must be Tenchi's girlfriend or something., she reasoned.  
  
"I have a name, its Ranma, and I'm a friend of Kasumi's, I ain't no relation to this Tenchi guy." Ranma-chan said not loosing eye contact with the floating woman. "I ain't in the market for a boyfriend either so if you and him are like an item you don't have worry about me."  
  
Aeka suddenly laughed making Ranma-chan cringe. That laugh certainly sounded very much like Kodachi's Laugh of Doom. "Ryoko and Lord Tenchi an item, that is just too funny." she laughed.  
  
"What'd you say?" Ryoko growled. Ranma-chan took note of energy sparking between the girl's fingers. She has only know one other chi adept who possessed the ability to fly, and that was Prince Herb of the Musk Dynasty. Ranma-chan decided she would keep a close watch on this woman, she had all the earmarks of a powerful martial artist. She was not concerned for herself, it was Kasumi she was worried about. This flying girl was way too much like Akane for her own taste also.  
  
"My name is Sasami, we don't get many visitors here in the mountains, and its really neat you're related to Tenchi." Sasami spoke up defusing the situation with her chipper attitude. Ranma-chan decided she liked this little girl, she was really cute, and reminded her a lot of a very young Kasumi.  
  
"Tenchi's at school I'm afraid, he usually doesn't get back until after dark." the little girl went on.  
  
"Oh my, then is Uncle Noboyuki home?" Kasumi asked her.  
  
Sasami shook her head. "He's at work, the only one here is grandpa and he's up at the shrine."  
  
Kasumi's eyes brightened. "Grandfather Katsuhito, its has been so long since I've seen him, I hope he recognizes me."  
  
"Let me take you up to the shrine, he should be there." Sasami said as she took Kasumi's hand and started leading her towards the steps that ran up the mountain side. Ranma followed along beside them giving the girls behind them a brief glance before going on.  
  
"Doesn't that girl remind you of somebody?" Ryoko asked Aeka.  
  
"She does seem very much like Sasami doesn't she." Aeka nodded.  
  
"I don't trust that red head though, she seems a little too cute if you know what I mean." Ryoko commented.  
  
Aeka watched the trio walk up the steps and took note of the girl named Ranma. "Hai, she is rather, uh, well put together isn't she." she said.  
  
"That Ranma certainly seems to be a lot like you Ryoko." Mihoshi added cheerfully. "And so scandalous too, did you know she wasn't wearing a bra?"  
  
"Mihoshi!" Aeka and Ryoko growled at her at the same time.  
  
* * *  
  
"Kasumi, is that you?"  
  
The ancient Masaki shrine on top of the mountain was one of the most well kept places Ranma-chan had ever seen. The cobblestones were kept clean and watered, the grass was cut to a respectable height, and the trees were all perfectly pruned back. It was very well maintained for a little family shrine deep in the mountains. The shrine keeper was a very handsome old man with graying hair and dressed in the white robes of his chosen profession. Ranma-chan stifled a gasp, the man's aura was immense to say the least. She had never felt a power this strong since first meeting the old ghoul, Cologne.  
  
"Grandfather Katsuhito, it's been so long." Kasumi smiled and accept an embrace from the old priest.  
  
"My, my, you have grown very beautiful." the old priest said. "You're almost a spitting image of your mother."  
  
Kasumi blushed an intense red. "Thank you."  
  
"What brings you all this way out to the mountains?" he asked then turned his attention to Ranma-chan. "And who is you lovely young companion?"  
  
"Oh my, this is Saotome Ranma, she is a very close and dear friend of mine." Kasumi said grasping Ranma-chan's hand.  
  
"Well, why don't you both come inside and we'll have some tea." Katsuhito said with a smile and lead the way into his private quarters.  
  
"I'll bring up some snacks, is that alright grandpa?" Sasami asked.  
  
"That would be lovely Sasami, thank you." the old priest replied.  
  
The three were soon seated around a table in Katsuhito's modest living quarters built into the shrine itself. The old man quickly made three cups of green tea while Ranma-chan watched his movements. They were fluid and smooth, the sign of a martial artist. Some priests were martial artists, she knew, and coupled with his bright power aura he must be pretty formidable.  
  
"The last time I saw you was at your mother's funeral." he said. "How has everyone been doing since then?"  
  
"Oh we survived, father took mother's death quite badly and he stopped taking students at the dojo." Kasumi explained to him. "I pretty much took over mother's duties around the house."  
  
"I remember little Akane, such a little thing and so full of anger." Katsuhito said sadly.  
  
"She ain't changed much." Ranma-chan muttered. She winced when Kasumi reach over and pinched her on the leg. "Ouch! Hey!"  
  
"And what about little Nabiki?" the old priest asked. His eyes filled with mirth at the little display the two just made.  
  
Kasumi sighed. "If it were not for Nabiki the dojo would have been liquidated by the government long ago because of overdue bills." she said. "Though I don't really approve of her methods of doing business, she has kept the family moderately well off financially, most of the time."  
  
"It is a shame such a young girl has to have such a responsibility tossed on her shoulders." Katsuhito said. "Doesn't your father work?"  
  
"He sits around the house all day playing Go with my pop." Ranma- chan spoke up. "Ouch, what'd I do now?" she winced when Kasumi pinched her again.  
  
"Father is not himself anymore, the slightest little problem will set him off on a terrible crying spell." Kasumi explained. "As I said before, he took mother's death very badly."  
  
"So, what bring you here other than just a social call?" Katsuhito asked them as Sasami arrived with a platter of sweet cakes. Ranma-chan picked up one and took a bite. For a brief instant she thought she was floating in heaven eating the food of the Kami.  
  
"Wow! This is really good, almost as good as yours Kasumi." she commented.  
  
Kasumi took a bite of one of the cakes and nodded. "Oh my, it is quite good, who made these Sasami?" she asked the little girl.  
  
"I did, I usually do all the cooking, I love to cook." Sasami smiled cheerfully.  
  
"I must get your recipe, this is so wonderful." Kasumi said after taking another bite. Then, she remember her host had asked her a question.  
  
"Oh my, well, we came here because Ranma and I were looking for a place to stay for a while." she said.  
  
"Oh? Is something wrong at home?" Katsuhito asked in surprise. Sasami happily skipped out of the little room and scampered back to the house. She had dinner on the stove and did not want to leave it in case Aeka or Ryoko got it into their minds to try and cook Tenchi dinner. The results could potentially be very extremely toxic.  
  
"Uh, could I have some hot water?" Ranma-chan asked holding up her cup. "No tea, just hot water."  
  
Katsuhito took the offered cup without questioning the reason for the girl wanting only hot water. He filled it from his thermos and gently handed it back. Ranma-chan lift it as if to drink it then upended it over her head triggering the transformation back to male form. Ranma was surprised the old did not react to his change, and was doubly surprised when the old man spoke on single word.  
  
"Josenkyo."  
  
"You know about the cursed springs?" Ranma asked him.  
  
Katsuhito laughed, "I know a great many things, the springs area a legend I heard rumors of once a long time ago. Today is the first time I have seen true evidence of their existence."  
  
Ranma scratched the back of his head nervously in a way that reminded the old man of his grandson. "Uh, well they are real enough, in the Quing Ha province of China near a village called-"  
  
"Joketsuzoku, ancestral home of the Nyanchiczu." the old man finished for him.  
  
Ranma nearly face faltered. "You sure do know a lot more than just hearing rumors." Ranma said suspiciously.  
  
The old priest laughed again and refilled Ranma's cup with more tea. "I got around quite a bit in my youth, that's all I'll say for now."  
  
"Ranma has had his curse for about a year now." Kasumi spoke up. "As long as I have known him he was had it."  
  
"So the two of you are-"  
  
"We're not engaged-" Kasumi began.  
  
"Yet." Ranma added putting an arm around her waist. Kasumi blushed intensely and scooted a little closer to Ranma.  
  
"We're more like boyfriend and girlfriend, actually." Kasumi went on. "The reason for us being together is one of the reasons why we are here, Grandfather Katsuhito." The old priest sat and listened to the sordid tail of Ranma's life at the Tendo dojo. She told of how Ranma arrived and how he ended up engaged to her younger sister Akane. The old man shuffled a bit where he sat when he learned of how Ranma was treated by their parents, Akane, and then the truth about the seppoku agreement between Ranma's father and mother. That last part made an angry expression pass over the old priest's face, but it vanished quickly as he listened to account after account of how Ranma had helped the dojo or saved Akane from trouble and how she never seemed to change in her attitude towards him. Finally she ended the story with the most recent of events that lead to the two of them making this journey together.  
  
"I see." Katsuhito said after hearing the whole story from Kasumi. "You say you are a Saotome?" He looked at Ranma who nodded.  
  
"I heard about the agreement to join the two schools some time ago before either of you were born." he went on. "It seems it has become something of an obsession for your parents, and obsessions can sometimes prove to be quite destructive."  
  
"No duh." Ranma muttered.  
  
The old priest cleared his throat and said, "I will allow the two of you to remain here. As long as you are living under my son's roof neither of your families will know you are here."  
  
"Oh thank you Grandfather Katsuhito." Kasumi gushed clutching her hands in front of her.  
  
"But, you must obey the house rules and help out with the daily chores around the house and the shrine like everyone else." he added.  
  
"Sure, why not." Ranma said. "I'll be training most of the time during the day anyway."  
  
A curious gleam came to the eye of the old priest. "You study Happosai's martial arts style?" he asked.  
  
"Yeah, but I also know a few Nyanchiczu techniques too." Ranma shrugged.  
  
Katsuhito laughed. "Then you really need to meet my grandson Tenchi, I think the two of you will get along quite well."  
  
"He's a martial artist?" Ranma asked excitedly.  
  
"In a manner of speaking, his specialty is Kendo." Katsuhito replied.  
  
Ranma narrowed his eyes. "He doesn't spout poetry does he?"  
  
"Huh?" the old man looked confused.  
  
Kasumi giggled a little. "It is a very long story, grandfather."  
  
"Well, Tenchi usually isn't home until after dark." Katsuhito said and looked at Ranma. "How old are you young man?"  
  
"Uh, sixteen why?" Ranma answered him.  
  
"Despite your situation you really should not lax in your education." the old man said. "I'll contact Tenchi's school and have you registered there."  
  
Ranma looked over at Kasumi who smiled gently at him. "Uh, ok, as long as there ain't no nut case principals with exploding pineapple bombs or crazy Kendo club captains with delusions of grandeur." he replied with a nod.  
  
"Is Nerima really that bad?" the old man asked Kasumi. The beautiful Tendo girl nodded sadly.  
  
Katsuhito laughed. "Ranma, I think you will find Ohkayama very different from Nerima."  
  
"Good, I've had enough of fighting Kuno every morning." he said in relief. "I don't need another one like him making my life a living hell."  
  
The old man laughed again shaking his head. "You really are going to have to tell me the whole story about this Furinken High one of these days."  
  
**********  
  
TO BE CONTINUED...  
  
Next up in Chapter 2: When Egos Collide  
  
The Masaki family is introduced to Kasumi and her "boyfriend" Saotome Ranma, with quite a bit of confusion. Wasn't Ranma a girl? Well, Ranma's ego seems to rub Ryoko the wrong way and the two are quickly at odds with one another, and the discovery of Ranma's curse by the girls only adds fuel to the already roaring fire. Meanwhile, Ranma's other iinazuke learn about his departure and plan to do something it. In the meantime though, something has happened to Kuno that could change the life of Tendo Akane forever. 


	2. Chapter 2

DISCLAIMER: "Ranma 1/2" is a registered trademark and copyright of Viz Communications, Kitty Productions, Shogakugan, Inc., and Rumiko Takahashi. All Rights Reserved. "Tenchi Muyo! Ryo-Ohki" is a registered trademark and copyright of Pioneer, LDC., AIC, Inc., and Kajishima Masaki. All Rights Reserved. All other random Anime characters belong to their own specific trademark and copyright holders whomever they may be.  
  
**********  
  
THE WARRIOR AND THE PEACEMAKER  
  
by Michael "TheZorch" Haney  
  
**********  
  
Chapter 2: When Egos Collide  
  
"I don't see what you're problem is, I think she's nice."  
  
Sasami looked at Ryoko with a scolding expression. It was rare for Sasami to get angry and Ryoko could never find a way to deal with the little Juraian princess when she did. She was so different from Aeka, it was incredible the two of them were even related at all. The reason for Sasami's rare display of annoyance was Ryoko's comments about the red headed Saotome Ranma. Sasami immediately decided she liked Ranma and Kasumi, they were very nice, and best of all they really liked her sweet cakes.  
  
"She rubs me the wrong way." Ryoko said folding her arms across her ample chest.  
  
"You're just angry because she had bigger breasts than you do." Aeka said with a smirk.  
  
"And a better body." Mihoshi added nodding her head.  
  
"HA! She ain't got nothing on me!" Ryoko exclaimed puffing out her chest. If Tenchi had been in the room he would have passed out from the mother-of-all-nosebleeds.  
  
"Ugh! You don't know she's here after Tenchi, and she said she isn't." said Sasami.  
  
"I've seen girls like her before Sasami, all cute and curvy, she'll be all over Tenchi when he gets home." Ryoko snorted in disgust.  
  
"Kinda like you, ne?" Sasami said giving the former space pirate a little playful smirk. Ryoko growled at her, but staying mad at the adorable little princess was virtually impossible even for her. She did wonder, how much of what she said came from Sasami herself or Tsunami?  
  
Aeka laughed. "She did seem a little like Ryoko in a way."  
  
"That piece of fluff!?" Ryoko roared. "I could smear her over four galaxies in less than a second!"  
  
"Miya, miya." Ryo-Ohki spoke up.  
  
Ryoko looked at her in disbelief. "What'd you mean she has a power level almost equal to Yosho's?"  
  
"Miya, miya miya miya!"  
  
"Bullshit, no pure blood human has that kind of power except for Tenchi, and he's only part human!" Ryoko growled.  
  
"Earth was once a colony of Jurai, Ryoko, it could be possible." Aeka shrugged.  
  
"YOU!" Ryoko pointed at the older princess. "I can't believe you're being so calm. This girl could be here to seduce Tenchi and you're doing nothing!"  
  
Aeka just smiled in that way that infuriated Ryoko and said, "I'm not a paranoid schizophrenic like you are."  
  
Ryoko growled low at her when suddenly her enhanced hearing picked up the voices of Yosho, that girl Kasumi, and some strange man approaching the house. "Oh great here they come." she groaned. She was curious to find out who this strange man was, and wondered where the red head went. She phased through the wall and down into the ground so only the top of her head showed. Quickly she hid beneath some bushes and watched the three approached the house.  
  
"How did Uncle Noboyuki get the house down here near the lake?" Kasumi asked.  
  
Katsuhito laughed. "It was not easy I assure you."  
  
"I can imagine." Kasumi laughed in reply.  
  
"Its bigger than your dad's place, Kasumi." a male voice said. Ryoko focused her enhanced vision on the person who spoke. The voice belonged boy of maybe Tenchi's age or younger, he was curiously dressed in the same getup that the red head had been wearing earlier for some odd reason. She also took note of the fact that the guy was really very cute, not as cute as Tenchi of course, but still really cute. And, very well built too, she could tell by the way he moved that the young man was in nearly perfect physical condition. He was very athletic in his build.  
  
"With so many people living here already, will you have enough room for us?" Kasumi asked the old priest.  
  
"Oh, I'm sure we can find room." Katsuhito smiled.  
  
"I smell something really good." Ranma commented sniffing the air and picking up on an intensely delicious aroma on the breeze.  
  
"Oh Ranma, always thinking with your stomach." Kasumi giggled.  
  
"That must be Sasami making dinner." Katsuhito said as he opened the back door for the other two.  
  
When the three entered the house Ryoko phased out of the ground and folded her legs into a lotus position in mid air. "She called that boy Ranma." she said thinking out loud. "But, I thought Ranma was a girl."  
  
The arrival of Katsuhito with two guests set the other house guests into motion. Sasami arrived from the kitchen with a fresh pitcher of iced tea while Aeka wiped off the dinner table. They were all curious about the young man. They had not seen him before with Kasumi, and why was he wearing the clothes the girl Ranma has been wearing?.  
  
"Dinner is almost done, grandpa." Sasami said as she scampered back to the kitchen.  
  
"She's awfully full of energy isn't she." Kasumi commented with a smile.  
  
"Sasami rarely gets to cook for guests, she loves doing it." Aeka said happily. "Sometimes I think she does it to show off."  
  
"Sure does smell great." Ranma said, then his stomach gave a loud growl. "Uh, haven't eaten anything cept those sweet cakes all day." He blushed a bit in embarrassment.  
  
"Excuse me, but we haven't met, my name is Aeka." Aeka said with a nod towards Ranma. "Sasami is my little sister."  
  
"Oh, uh, well we did meet, sorta." Ranma replied scratching his head nervously.  
  
"Oh? That's odd, I don't recall ever meeting you before." Aeka said looking confused. I am certain I would have remembered a young man as attractive as he is if I had met him before., Aeka said to herself.  
  
A sound from the kitchen startled everyone. They turned to see a small gray and orange form darting out of the kitchen. Sasami came running after it at full speed.  
  
"Ryo-Ohki, stop, that carrot is for the salad!" the little girl yelled at the little creature as it bounded over the couch and landed on the dinner table.  
  
"I got her Sasami!" Mihoshi shouted as she lunged for the Cabbit, but in pure Mihoshi style she missed her mark and hit the pitcher of iced tea instead. Everything suddenly slowed down like a slow motion film for Saotome Ranma as he realized the contents of said pitcher were headed on a direct trajectory strait for him. Sighing with resignation he felt the cold liquid hit him and then the telltale tingling sensation that came along with the transformation.  
  
"Geh! Cold!" Ranma-chan exclaimed.  
  
Everyone suddenly looked over at her and gasped in unison. Ryoko had been watching them from her perch on the ceiling when the incident happened. A million and one thoughts ran through her head but there was only one thing she could think of saying at that moment.  
  
"What the hell!?"  
  
"Oh my!" Mihoshi and Kasumi gasped in unison.  
  
"Wait, what, uh, weren't you-" Aeka stammered as she looked at the voluptuous red head in surprise who only seconds before had been a very handsome, dark haired boy.  
  
"Wow!" Sasami gasped in amazement. She had seen the transformation.  
  
"Miya?" Ryo-Ohki meowed curiously.  
  
"Geh! That rabbit just meowed!" Ranma-chan cringed from the little creature.  
  
"That's Ryo-Ohki, she's a Cabbit." Sasami said as she reach out and picked up the little creature. "And she is very naughty too." She waved a finger at the creature and its big floppy ears drooped.  
  
"It's not a c-c-c-cat?" Ranma-chan asked her.  
  
"Nope." Sasami replied with a smile.  
  
"Excuse me, but weren't you a boy just a moment ago?" Aeka asked still trying to sort out what she had just seen.  
  
"Uh well, uh, yeah I was." Ranma-chan said scratching the back of her head.  
  
"What are you some kinda freaky cross dresser?" Ryoko asked as she floated down to their level.  
  
"It ain't cross dressing!" Ranma roared at her.  
  
"Then what'd you call it, fem boy?" Ryoko asked with a smirk.  
  
"Why you!" Ranma growled then calmed down when Katsuhito cleared his throat.  
  
"Sasami, be a dear and get Ranma some warm water, but not too hot." he said.  
  
"Uh, ok grandpa." she said then went to the kitchen and returned a moment later with a lightly steaming kettle of water. Ranma-chan accept it and poured a little of it on her head. The transformation was instantaneous.  
  
"It's, it's incredible!" Aeka gasped.  
  
"First he's a he, then he's a she, and now he's a he again." Mihoshi said looking very confused. "I don't get it."  
  
"I thought you said he was pure human." Ryoko growled looking at Ryo-Ohki who shrugged with her paws.  
  
"It is very simple to explain, Ranma is the victim of an ancient curse acquired at a magical spring located in China called Josenkyo." Katsuhito explained to them. "There are several such springs, each with a tragic story of something drowning in them, and who so ever falls into one of them takes on the form of that which drowned there whenever splashed with cold water."  
  
"And warm water reversed the effect." Kasumi added.  
  
"Fascinating, I must get a blood sample from both forms." came a new voice from behind Ranma. He cringed and looked behind him. His gaze was greeted by a young girl of perhaps only twelve years of age with a mane of bright pink hair that flared out and hung down her back nearly all the way to the floor.  
  
"Oh, Little Washu, we didn't see you there." Katsuhito said, his smile quickly turned to a playful smirk.  
  
"I wonder, how does his molecular structure handled the stresses of this transformation without a weakening of the nuclear forces holding them together." Washu said as she looked closely at the young man. My, my, he is a cutie isn't he., she remarked to herself. "And I bet the hormone shifts must wreak havoc with his body chemistry, assuming the transformations are complete and not just superficial."  
  
"Say what?" Ranma looked at her, he did not understand a single word she had just said.  
  
"Little Washu." Katsuhito said a bit impatiently.  
  
"Oh, sorry, my name's Washu." the pink haired girl said offering Ranma her hand. After he shook it she took a sweet and innocent pose saying, "But you can call me Little Washu, okay!" Little sparkles of pink, blue, green, and silver seemed to appear out of nowhere and float around her face.  
  
"Uh." Ranma let out because he was at a total loss for words. Geeze, this Tenchi's got a really weird family., he said to himself.  
  
"So how long have you had this curse thing?" Ryoko asked.  
  
Ranma shrugged. "About a year now, it was all my baka father's fault I got it in the first place."  
  
"Mr. Saotome had a guide book to ancient martial arts training grounds in China, but unfortunately he was unable to read Chinese." Kasumi explained. "He too has a Josenkyo curse, he transforms into a panda bear."  
  
Ryoko nearly doubled over with laughter. "Ha ha! Oh that's rich!"  
  
"There are three others we know who are cursed, one lovely young woman named Shampoo transforms into a cat, a young man named Mousse turns into a duck, and a boy about Tenchi's age named Ryoga turns into a little black pot-bellied pig." Kasumi continued. Nobody seemed to notice Katsuhito's eyes narrow at the mentioning of the name Shampoo.  
  
"Is this curse, uh, you know, contagious?" Mihoshi asked fearfully.  
  
Ranma shook his head. "No, you can only get it if you're splashed with water from one of the cursed springs or you actually fall into one."  
  
Mihoshi sighed with relief, "Good."  
  
"So when you're a girl, do you like, you know, like girls or do you like boys?" Ryoko asked him suspiciously.  
  
Ranma shot her a vicious expression before answering. "Only my body changes, I still like girls in my cursed form."  
  
"So you're cursed form is a lesbian." Ryoko said with a wicked smirk.  
  
Ranma was on his feet faster than anyone was able to follow and he got up into Ryoko's face. "What the hell is your problem!?" he roared at her. "You've been on my case ever since I got here!"  
  
"Ranma!" Kasumi scolded him. The Saotome youth grunted in disgust at Ryoko then sat back down next to Kasumi.  
  
"Sorry Kasumi." he said quietly.  
  
"These people live here Ranma, we should show a little more respect since Grandfather Katsuhito was so nice to let us stay here." Kasumi said to him.  
  
"What!?" Ryoko exclaimed. "You mean they're going to be staying here!?"  
  
Katsuhito nodded. "Yes Ryoko, Kasumi is of blood relation to Tenchi and a member of our family, and Ranma is her boyfriend."  
  
"I don't believe this, you're letting this half man, half girl freak show move in with us!" Ryoko fumed.  
  
"Ryoko, that was uncalled for!" Aeka shouted at her.  
  
"That's it! I don't know what you're freakin problem is with me but I ain't gonna sit here and take no insults from a flying punk rocker reject!" Ranma growl as she leapt to his feet again and fell into a fighting stance.  
  
"Who you calling a punk, punk!?" Ryoko seethed angrily.  
  
"Normally, I don't like hitting girls, but you ain't no lady!" Ranma shouted in Ryoko's face.  
  
"Take your best shot, fem-boy!" Ryoko grinned.  
  
Katsuhito was immediately on his feet. "Please, no fighting in the house!" he insisted.  
  
"Ok, lets take this outside then!" Ranma said calmly and headed for the door.  
  
Ryoko cracked her knuckles as she floated long and phased through the wall to the outside. "Oh, this is gonna be too easy."  
  
"Oh my!" Kasumi gasped as she climbed to her feet.  
  
"Ryoko is going to fight him, but it won't be a fair fight." Sasami protested.  
  
"I agree, we should stop this." Aeka nodded.  
  
Katsuhito just smiled and said, "Something tells me Ryoko has just bitten off more than she can chew this time."  
  
"Nani?" the girls, that being Sasami, Aeka, and Mihoshi, all said at the same time.  
  
"Oh my, I hope Ranma doesn't hurt her too badly." said Kasumi. "He sometimes gets carried away when he's angry. The last time he had a truly serious battle was when he fought someone named Herb, and if I recall Ranma destroyed a mountain in that fight."  
  
"Destroyed a mountain!?" the girls exclaimed in shock.  
  
* * *  
  
Everyone was gathered outside at watch the grudge match between Saotome Ranma and Habiki Ryoko. The two combatants squared off in the yard. The two Juraian guardians had taken an interest in what was going on and so they joined the audience. Ryoko made no move to fall into a fighting stance, she just looked at Ranma with a confident smirk on her face. Ranma was in a defensive stance preparing to fend off Ryoko's first attack. Like always, he was going to let her make the first move and study her technique for weaknesses. He felt an awesome amount of power radiating from that girl, but for some odd reason he did not sense any of the other usual trademark signs of a martial artist. For one thing she was not in a fighting stance, she just stood there leaving herself wide open.  
  
"I'm gonna rip you apart fem-boy." Ryoko said with a smirk.  
  
"Stop calling me that!" Ranma shouted, then he put on his most antagonistic smile. "Or are you saying that because you're jealous of my female form? I mean, I do have to admit, I am a lot prettier than you are, spike head."  
  
"HA! Me jealous of you, don't be a baka!" Ryoko spat.  
  
"Oh?" Ranma cocked an eye brow. He rushed to the edge of the lake and leapt in. A second later Ranma-chan returned with a smirk on her face. "Don't get me wrong, but these certainly are a lot bigger than yours." she said as she held her two ample bosoms in her hands. She ran her hand down her flat stomach taking on a pose that would have given Kuno a fatal nose bleed. "And that little paunch you have, I'd swear you must have been pregnant once, or twice." she went on.  
  
"WHY YOU!" Ryoko cried as she attacked.  
  
Instead of just blasting the baka Ryoko decided to humiliate him by pummeling him with her bare hands. To her sudden shock, Ranma dodged around her punches literally flowing around them. Holy shit, he's fast!, Ryoko realized too late. Man, my old man's faster than this loud mouth bitch., Ranma-chan observed as she dodged more punches. Her style sucks even worse than Akane's., she determined as she continued to study Ryoko's technique. Ryoko quickly realized she was getting nowhere doing this the old fashioned way. She quickly took to the air and rained down a few energy blasts at the boy. Ranma leapt into the air performing perfect somersaults to avoid the explosions. She's got good chi channeling abilities though., Ranma-chan observed.  
  
"Oh my!" Kasumi gasped as Ranma narrowly dodged a blast that struck where he had been only a belief second ago.  
  
How can an ordinary human being be that damn fast?, Ryoko asked herself. Frustrated she flew in low and summoned her energy sword. She swung in a manner that should have cleaved the red head's pretty little noggin off her shoulders, but Ranma moved so fast her body blurred with the movement. As Ryoko passed by her Ranma unleashed with a Kachuu Tenshin Amaguriken attack at her side. The impact felt to Ryoko as if she had been struck by a ten ton crowbar, and the impact threw her off balance and sent her skidding over the ground face first.  
  
"WOW! Ranma just delivered over five hundred punches in less than zero point eight nine seconds!" Washu exclaimed excitedly as she looked at her translucent computer screen.  
  
"H-H-How is that possible?" Aeka asked her in astonishment.  
  
"I am afraid Grandfather Katsuhito was right, Ryoko is too far over her head in this fight." Kasumi told them. "I believe the correct term is 'outclassed'."  
  
"He cannot possibly be that powerful." Aeka said in disbelief.  
  
Damn, what the hell did he hit me with?, Ryoko asked herself as she climbed to her feet. She can summon a blade with her chi, only Herb was able to do that., Ranma-chan noted to herself. "Time to get serious." Ranma-chan though out loud and summoned up her reserves of inner chi energy.  
  
"Ranma's internal energy levels are rising at an exponential rate!" Washu gasped in awe as she watched her computer display. "If these readings are correct he's nearly grandpa's equal in power!"  
  
Ryoko came in screaming like a demon throwing blasts of energy from both hands. Ranma-chan dodged the blasts with ease, waited for the raging woman to fly close enough, then leapt high into the air and delivered a snap kick to her face. It would have worked, but Ranma-chan felt her foot impact some sort of hard surface only inches away from Ryoko's face.  
  
"A chi force field!?" she gasped in surprise.  
  
"You are way out of your league, Red!" Ryoko cackled as she circled around like a shark does with its intended prey.  
  
"We'll see about that!" Ranma-chan shouted. She stretched out with her senses and felt the bubble of energy surrounding Ryoko. She found a point where the energy of the shield was weaker than anywhere else on the surface. Ranma-chan ran as fast as she could towards Ryoko dodging blasts of energy as she went. Ryoko came at her just like Ranma-chan wanted her to. At the right moment the red head leapt into the air thirty feet straight up and twisted around until she had a clear view of where the weak point in Ryoko's shield was.  
  
"Moko Takabisha!"  
  
The blast of bright energy from Ranma-chan's hands took everyone by surprise except for Kasumi. They all gasped in wonderment. For Ryoko it was a different experience. She was shocked to find the red head could wield such power, then she felt the power of her force field short circuit and fizzle out. With the shield down the rest of the chi blast hit Ryoko full force knocking her to the ground and raising a huge cloud of dust and dirt.  
  
"Ouch! Ryoko's going to feel that one in the morning." Washu chuckled.  
  
Ranma-chan alighted to the ground a few feet from where Ryoko had crashed but could not see her body for all the dust. "That was too easy." she said. She instantly regretted her comment when she felt something latch onto her ankle. Ranma-chan looked down gasping in shock. Ryoko was phased partially out of the ground, holding her ankle and smirking viciously.  
  
"Easy you say?" Ryoko asked her before yanking hard and throwing Ranma with tremendous force into a nearby tree. The red head struck the tree trunk with such force that the outline of her body left an impression.  
  
"Oh my!" Kasumi gasped fearfully.  
  
"Oh, I hope he isn't badly hurt!" Sasami cried.  
  
Damn, she's as strong as Ryoga!, Ranma-chan realized. Ryoko flew into the air, summoned her sword and rushed towards Ranma-chan at full speed. "This fight is over!" she cried. Ryoko grinned in gleeful anticipation of her victory when Ranma-chan broke herself free of the tree, kicked off the trunk with her feet, flipped head over heels in the air, and delivered a snap kick dead center between Ryoko's eyes.  
  
"Incredible, he doesn't have a single broken bone and barely even any scratches!" Washu shouted in excitement like a child at an amusement park.  
  
Ryoko went flying and then tumbled and bounced several feet before coming to a stop. She recovered quickly from the blow and rubbed the spot where the red head kicked her. "You're better than I figured you to be, fem-boy." she said.  
  
"I said stop calling me that, horn head!" Ranma-chan shouted.  
  
"Horn head!" Ryoko roared as she renewed her attack. Ranma began dodging her again, not attacking, just dodging. Kasumi suddenly recognized the spiral pattern in which her boyfriend. come girlfriend, was moving in.  
  
"Oh my, I-I-I think it would be advisable for us to put some distance between us and them." she told them.  
  
"We're plenty far enough away." Washu said with a shrug.  
  
Kasumi shook her head. "I'm afraid not, especially not with what Ranma is about to do."  
  
"What is he about to do?" Sasami asked her curiously.  
  
"Win." Kasumi said as she started backing away quickly. The others looked at her, then at Ranma-chan and decided to heed the girl's advice.  
  
"Stand still you hermaphrodite!" Ryoko growled in frustration as her fists and energy blasts failed to hit Ranma-chan. Ranma-chan could feel the intense heat rising from Ryoko and felt her own chilling Soul of Ice chi energy building to catastrophic levels. With a fighter as strong as this Ryoko, Ranma realized she had to unleash her attack at a greater strength than she had ever used before except during the battle at Josendo.  
  
"HIRYU!"  
  
"Is all you can do is dodge me!?"  
  
" SHOTEN!"  
  
"I'm disappointed, you're last performance was so much better, fem-boy!"  
  
"HA!"  
  
Ryoko did not know what hit her, she only knew one thing though, it hurt like a son-of-a-bitch! Kasumi remained calm as everyone around her except for Katsuhito collapsed to the ground in absolute shock and horror at Ranma's awesome display of power. A roaring tornado of pure chi energy shot up from the ground striking Ryoko with the force of a freight train. She was thrown up into the air and pummeled by the immense forces within the whirlwind. She felt intense, searing agony for only a short moment before unconsciousness finally took her. Ranma-chan stopped away from the natural disaster of her own making and waited for it to subside. When the winds died she watched the sky for Ryoko's body, she spotted it plummeting towards the ground head first, and she was off in a flash. Ranma-chan leapt fifty feet off the ground clearing the tops of the trees and caught Ryoko in mid fall. She landed gracefully not far away from where the others had been watching the whole spectacle.  
  
"Amazing, he created a tornado purely by employing his own bioelectric energy field!" Washu exclaimed with delight. "This is totally unprecedented in scientific history!"  
  
"I didn't wanna do it, but she forced me too." Ranma-chan said with a sad expression on her eyes.  
  
"Is she alright Washu?" Sasami asked pleadingly.  
  
Washu waved a medical scanner over Ryoko's body still being held in Ranma-chan's arms and nodded, "She'll live, though she's gonna be sore as hell for a week or so."  
  
"What did you do to her?" Aeka asked Ranma-chan with an expression that was a mixture of great respect and fear.  
  
"The Hiryu Shoten Ha, its an Amazon technique that turns an enemies attack power back against them." Ranma replied.  
  
"You didn't have to be so rough with her Ranma." Kasumi scolded him.  
  
Ranma-chan looked at her. "I don't know if ya noticed Kasumi but she was running me ragged out there."  
  
"Well, at least she is going to be fine, but next time do be more gentle." Kasumi told him and smiled. The others looked at her and then at Sasami, and wondered if the little princess had any close relatives on Earth or not.  
  
* * *  
  
"Ranchan did what!?"  
  
Kuonji Ukyo stared at her primary rival Tendo Akane across the counter at her restaurant "Ucchan's" in total disbelief. What she had just been told was so totally beyond the realm of possibility with Saotome Ranma that she had a hard time believing it. Which she did not, of course.  
  
"I don't believe you, this is some kinda trick to keep me from Ranchan!" Ukyo growled slowly reaching for her large Baker's Peel she wore slung over her back.  
  
"I'm not lying, and this isn't a trick!" Akane protested in her own defense. "He and Kasumi ran off together, they took their clothes and some money last night."  
  
"She's telling the truth Ukyo." Nabiki said backing up her little sister.  
  
Ukyo eyed the infamous "Ice Queen" suspiciously. "How do I know you're not lying either, Nabiki?"  
  
"You don't, but ask yourself this," Nabiki said to her. "What would I possibly gain from supporting a union between Akane and Ranma if it wouldn't benefit me directly?"  
  
"I don't know, you'd probably get to exploit him some more." Ukyo frowned at her.  
  
Nabiki just smirked at the little snipe. "Good point, but the dojo and all finances that go along with it would go to Akane and Ranma if they marry. I wouldn't be able to touch it."  
  
"But, Ranchan and Kasumi?" Ukyo looked at Akane, the disbelief in her expression was fading fast. "I didn't even know she liked him."  
  
Akane shook her head. "Neither did I Ukyo, neither did I, but apparently she must have if she left with him willingly."  
  
Ukyo was suddenly angry again. "What, I suppose you think he kidnapped her or something? You're always accusing Ranchan of doing things he's innocent of!"  
  
With that said, Akane just looked at the floor. "I think its stuff like that that made him leave."  
  
"So, you drove Ranchan away!" Ukyo yelled at her accusingly.  
  
"I-I-never intended to do that." Akane said sadly still looking at the floor. "I've had a lot of time since this morning to think things through and I-I really can't blame him for leaving."  
  
Ukyo threw her hands into the air as she yelled, "Oh, freakin great, you realize this 'after' he runs off with your older sister!"  
  
Akane shot her angry look. "You think I'm happy he's gone!? You think I wanted to drive him away!?"  
  
"Hai!"  
  
Akane took on an extremely hurt expression. "I'm in misery! I loved him, I never intended to hurt him!"  
  
"A whole lotta good that does now that he's gone." Ukyo said angrily. Akane turned away from the okonomiyaki chief as sobbing overcame her. Nabiki put a reassuring hand on her shoulder and turned to Ukyo.  
  
"We're going to the Nekohauten." she said. "I'm sure they'll be as thrilled with this news as you were."  
  
* * *  
  
"AAAIIIYYYAAA!!!"  
  
Shampoo's scream echoed through the deserted restaurant, she could not believe what she had just heard from the two Tendo sisters. Cologne sat passively as she listen to the story. When the two girls were done speaking she waited for Shampoo's tirade to end before she herself spoke.  
  
"So, son-in-law has departed the Tendo dojo with the fair Tendo Kasumi at his side." she said without betraying any negative emotion.  
  
"All the evidence seems to point that way." Nabiki pointed out. "Why else would Kasumi run away at the same time as Ranma."  
  
The ancient woman seemed to ponder this for a moment. "It is also unlikely that he would have forced her to go with him, it isn't in son- in-law's nature."  
  
"That's what we sort of figured too." Akane said.  
  
"Airen and nice girl Kasumi run away!" Shampoo cried in dismay. Mousse tried his best to consul the girl and was doing very badly. Cologne looked at her with an expression of sympathy, but it was brief.  
  
"It appears my great granddaughter is taking this news rather badly." she said turning to leave. "If you will excuse me please I would like to get her a sedative tea to ease her nerves."  
  
Nabiki bowed to the old woman in an uncharacteristically, for Nabiki, respectful manner. "Of course, don't bother asking Mousse to show us out we know the way."  
  
Once the two were outside of the Nekohauten Akane gave out a deep sigh of relief. Nabiki looked at her curiously. She recalled how badly Shampoo had taken the news of Ranma's disappearance, and was thinking the same thing Akane probably was. Shampoo would, like Ukyo, likely blame Akane for this due to her behavior towards Ranma. That was not a good thing, Shampoo was a much better martial artist than Akane and Ranma was not around anymore to protect her. Cologne would likely do something to occupy Shampoo's mind and keep her from launching a vendetta against Akane. Nabiki would probably bet a large sum of Yen that in a day or so the Nekohauten would likely be closed. The Nyanchiczu were excellent trackers and would probably find Ranma and Kasumi before her father and Mr. Saotome found them. The real question though is, what will Cologne and Shampoo do once they found them?  
  
"That was a lot easier than I thought it would be." Nabiki commented.  
  
"They're gonna go after them you know." Akane looked at her.  
  
"I'd bet all the Yen in my bank account on that." Nabiki nodded in agreement to Akane's statement. "Cologne isn't likely going to give up on Ranma just yet."  
  
"I'm worried about Kasumi, would they do anything to her?" Akane asked her sister with a worried tone.  
  
Nabiki shrugged her shoulders. "Don't really know, its kind of hard to imagine anyone attacking Kasumi. But, Ranma is with her and I doubt Cologne would be foolish enough to piss him off, especially after Saffron."  
  
Akane shuddered, she had been unconscious during Ranma's epic struggle with the Phoenix god, but she had seen the aftermath of that titanic battle. It frightened her that Ranma possessed such awesome power, but it had also filled her with a kind of joy at the thought that Ranma believed she was worth killing for. Of course, that was now a moot point.  
  
"I think after Cologne saw what Ranma did to that guy I don't think she wants to directly fight him." Akane commented.  
  
"Unless she's got a death wish." Nabiki laughed.  
  
Akane stopped walking and looked down at her feet. Nabiki looked at her with sympathy. She knew Akane felt more for Ranma than she was letting on. This whole episode was having a big impact on her. Akane looked as if she was on verge of renewed tears, but she sucked in her chest, wiped her eyes, and continued down the street as if nothing happened.  
  
"I'm not gonna go all weepy." she said. "I'm no timid little maiden with feelings as fragile as rice paper."  
  
"Sometimes keeping it all in isn't a good think, Akane." Nabiki told her with concern.  
  
Akane waved her off. "I'll be ok, I just gotta deal with this thing on my own."  
  
"Chief!" came a cry from down the street. Akane and Nabiki turned to see Kaori, one of Nabiki's "lieutenants" from Furinken High School. She was a short girl who wore glasses and had long brown hair that hung down to her waist. She ran up to them and stopped huffing a puffing from having run so far.  
  
"What's up?" Nabiki asked her.  
  
"Didja hear the latest news?" Kaori asked her after gaining her breath.  
  
Nabiki shook her head. "Been a bit busy today." She checked the pockets of her denim coveralls and noticed she had forgotten her cell phone. "And I guess in all the excitement I forgot my phone at home."  
  
"Well, word is that Kuno Tatawaki collapsed today and was taken to Tokyo General." Kaori explained.  
  
"When did this happen?" the two Tendo sisters asked at the same time in surprise.  
  
"The scoop is that the guy was practicing with the Kendo club at the school, they have permission to use the school gym on off days, and well he was practicing on a dummy when he clutched at his head and collapsed." the girl replied.  
  
"Oh my Kami-sama!" Akane gasped in surprise.  
  
"Get a hold of Mikira and Feori, they volunteer at the hospital on the work study program, see if they can get some info on what's going on with him." Nabiki told the girl.  
  
"I'm on it chief." Kaori said with a smile. "Uh, I gotta ask one thing though, I've also been hearing this rumor that Ranma's gone-"  
  
"Its true, he took off last night." Akane nodded.  
  
"Wow! But, why?" Kaori asked.  
  
Akane shrugged her shoulders. "Could be any reason, and my oldest sister is missing too."  
  
Kaori gasped at that and looked at Nabiki. "They-they-they ran off together, Ranma and that really sweet sister of your!?"  
  
Akane looked at Nabiki a bit nervously then said, "Might as well let her spread the word, it'll get out sooner or later."  
  
"Be discreet about it." Nabiki told the girl and Kaori nodded in agreement.  
  
"I'll get as much info on Kuno as I can and I'll call you chief, bye." the girl turned and headed down the street. She reached into her purse and pulled out a cell phone.  
  
"I wonder what happened to Kuno baby." Nabiki said, concern obvious in her voice.  
  
"Yeah, he's never done anything like that before." Akane said.  
  
"Better get home, daddy is totally helpless without Kasumi taking care of the house." Nabiki said sadly. The two sisters turned and started their way down the street towards home.  
  
* * *  
  
Ryoko woke up feeling as if she were having the worst hangover in the history of all hangovers in the known thirteen galaxies. Her entire body felt as if someone or something had literally beaten the living hell out of her, and that was not too far from the honest truth. She recognized the smell and sounds of where she was to be Washu's lab. Slowly she tried to sit up and instantly regretted it. Laying back down with a thud the ex- space pirate fought down the sudden urge to jettison her lunch.  
  
"How do you feel, Ryoko?" she heard Washu ask.  
  
"Like shit." Ryoko replied in a tired voice.  
  
"When you pick fights with somebody, pick somebody who isn't more powerful than you are." Washu scolded her. "You're damn lucky to be alive right now if it hadn't been for Ranma."  
  
"Nani?"  
  
"After he cleaned your clock good with something he called the Hiryu Shoten Ha, he leapt and snatched you out of the air before you planted yourself face first into the ground." Washu explained. "At the rate of speed you were traveling even 'you' would not have survived the fall."  
  
Ryoko was almost speechless. "H-H-H-He saved me?"  
  
"He also felt pretty bad for having to do that to you, but I have to agree with him that you really didn't given him much of a choice." Washu said as she folded her arms across her adolescent chest.  
  
Why did he do that? He had no reason to save her, she would not have done the same for him, or would she? It was confusing, she was trying to kill the guy, or girl, which ever you want to really call the kid. She did not trust him, she thought he was a shape shifter of some kind out to get her Tenchi. But, if he were really some girl out to seduce Tenchi why then did he save her from dying, and why did he feel bad about having to hurt her?  
  
"Where is he now?" Ryoko asked.  
  
"In the living room talking with Tenchi and his cousin he hasn't seen in many years." Washu replied.  
  
"That nice girl, Kasumi, the one who acts like an older Sasami." Ryoko said quietly.  
  
"Their personalities are a bit similar, but I've observed that she is something of a subtle cross between Sasami and Mihoshi's personalities, a even balance actually without the clumsiness." Washu observed.  
  
"She did sorta seem clueless at times." Ryoko laughed and tried to sit up again. This time the disorientation and pain she felt before did not show its ugly head.  
  
"What the hell did he hit me with?" Ryoko asked as she looked at the remains of what had been her dress, now it was barely hanging onto her body and looked like it was about to fall apart leaving her naked at any moment. With considerable effort Ryoko summoned her power and phased into a new dress.  
  
"He said it was the Hiryu Shoten Ha, he called it a chi technique that turns any enemy's attack power back against them." Washu explained. "This chi I detected inside of him is a very strong bioelectric energy field generated by his body, and he has a great deal of it stored inside of him. The frequency of this energy is quite high, almost as high as that of the Jurai power, and it is quite potent when applied during battle."  
  
Ryoko tried to stand but her legs were too wobbly so she opted to hover but even that was unsteady. "I feel like I went through a giant blender." she said.  
  
"If you weren't made of sterner stuff than what I made you out of you probably would have been ripped to pieces." Washu said with a smirk. "The forces inside that chi energy whirlwind were strong enough to shred a ship with a solid duranium hull."  
  
Ryoko stretched and groaned as the kinks in her muscles were coming undone. "It sure feels like it."  
  
"Are you sufficiently cooled off to face the guy again without trying to rip his head off?" Washu asked her daughter. "He isn't out to get Tenchi, his girl half isn't out to get him either, and he seems quite smitten with Kasumi."  
  
Ryoko looked away, in her mind's eye an image of Tenchi appeared super-imposed with that of Saotome Ranma in male form. The woman gasped, startled at this, then instantly calmed down. "I'm ok, I won't try to kill him or anything." she said.  
  
"Good, because you won't last against another one of those techniques." Washu breathed a sigh of relief. "Besides, it was rather impressive the way he cut through the weak point in your shield."  
  
"How did he do that?" Ryoko turned and asked her diminutive mother.  
  
Washu shrugged. "My guess is he has the ability to sense energy sources, he says he can see a person's aura and feel their chi energy. So, its likely he scanned your shield, detected the weak point, and used a viable strategy to punch through it."  
  
Ryoko shook her head. "I never imagined ordinary Earthlings had that kind of ability."  
  
"According to Katsuhito, there are a number of people around the world, all martial artists, with the ability to channel their chi energies in order to do things that would be considered super-human." Washu explained to her. She walked up to Ryoko, too the woman's arm, and helped her towards the door to the living room.  
  
* * *  
  
When Tenchi arrived home he looked at the devastated yard with surprise and decided to have another long talk with Ryoko and Aeka about fighting. He was surprise again to find they had guests. He immediately recognized Kasumi as his cousin from Nerima. The two shared a warm hug, they had not seen one another in many years. Tenchi was introduced to Ranma, who was male at the time, and the two of them hit it off very quickly. During the conversation Tenchi turned to Aeka and scolded her about the condition of the yard. He was shocked to learn that the destruction was caused when Ryoko challenge Ranma to a fight, and he was doubly shocked to learn that Ranma had won.  
  
"How did you beat her, she's really tough?" Tenchi asked the pig tailed martial artist.  
  
"You ever hear of chi channeling?" Ranma asked him.  
  
"Grandpa talks about it from time to time but I never really understood what he meant." Tenchi admitted.  
  
"You should have seen it Lord Tenchi, Ryoko was completely, uh, outclassed you might say." said Aeka using the term Kasumi had said earlier.  
  
"Yeah, and he kicked her butt really good too." Mihoshi said cheerfully.  
  
"Couldn't have been easy, she's a touch cookie." said Noboyuki who had come home about same time Tenchi did.  
  
The door to Washu's lab opened up and the diminutive genius emerged with a badly battered Ryoko following close behind. When Tenchi saw her condition he looked at Ranma and then back at the ex-space pirate with shock. Upon seeing Tenchi,. Ryoko threw open her arms and raced at him to deliver a world-class glomp. But, the action elicited a series of painful sensations in her body.  
  
"TENCHIIIII, OUCH OUCH OUCH!!!"  
  
"Take it easy Ryoko, you heal quickly, but even for you it'll be a few weeks before you're back to normal." Washu commented.  
  
"I hope Ranma wasn't too hard on you." said Kasumi. "He doesn't know his own strength sometimes."  
  
"You did this to 'her'?" Tenchi asked the boy as he pointed at Ryoko in total disbelief.  
  
"He got lucky, Tenchi, that's all." Ryoko groaned as she moved her arm working out the kinks.  
  
"Luck ain't got nothing to do with it lady." Ranma spat.  
  
Ryoko growled at him against and suddenly snapped out of it when someone slapped her on the rear end. "You promised to behave yourself." Washu said to her with irritation.  
  
"I don't know what this Hiryu Shoten Ha or whatever it is, but it hurt like hell." Ryoko said to the young martial artist.  
  
"The Amazons of China taught it to me, its a passive attack, you don't physically touch your opponent." Ranma replied. "You let your attacker go at you while you move in a spiral, the key is the Soul of Ice technique. While your attacker gets enraged and generates a ton of hot chi you run in a spiral making cold chi, and when the the mixture is ready you unleash the cold chi into his hot and BAM!"  
  
"I still don't see how an ordinary human can possess that kind of power." said Ryoko.  
  
"Hush Ryoko!" Tenchi whispered to her quickly giving Ranma and his cousin a sidelong, nervous, glance.  
  
Ranma patted him on the shoulder. "Hey, don't worry about it man. I already figured she weren't human and all."  
  
"You did?" Ryoko and Tenchi asked at the same time.  
  
"Her aura, it ain't normal." Ranma pointed out. "The last time I saw one like it was when I fought Saffron."  
  
"You fought Saffron of Josendo?" Katsuhito asked with surprise.  
  
Kasumi put her arm around Ranma's shoulders when he looked down at the floor and said, "It was the first time in my life I ever killed someone and meant to do it."  
  
"He's dead!" the old priest said in shock. The others all looked at Ranma in total surprise as well.  
  
"Who was this Saffron anyway?" Ryoko asked.  
  
"He was the Prince of the Phoenix People of Phoenix Mountain." Katsuhito explained.  
  
"It ain't something I like to talk about." Ranma said still looking down at the ground. "I killed him trying to protect Akane, I used a focused version of the Hiryu Shoten Ha to take him out."  
  
"I wasn't there when all of this happened, but if Ranma had not acted my dear sister would not be alive right now." Kasumi said softly still holding onto Ranma.  
  
Tenchi put his hand on Ranma's shoulder and said, "If you did it to save someone and you had no other choice then you have nothing to be ashame of. I wasn't."  
  
"Huh?" Ranma looked at him, puzzled.  
  
"About six months ago, this guy named Kagato came and caused a lot of trouble for us." Tenchi explained. "He was really strong, stronger than grandpa or Ryoko. He kidnapped Ryoko then me, Aeka, and Mihoshi went after them. In the end, I really didn't have much a choice either so I had to kill him or the people I cared about wouldn't be alive today."  
  
"Well, it seems the two of you have something in common." Katsuhito said with a smile.  
  
"Why was this guy after your younger sister anyway?" Tenchi asked Kasumi.  
  
"Uh, well, at the time me and her were engaged." Ranma answered for her. "It was arranged by our parents cause they wanted to join our two halves of the Ryu of Anything Goes Martial Arts. But, it never worked out between us."  
  
"Which is one of the reasons why Ranma and I are here together." Kasumi said. "Ranma was going to leave, it was not working out well for them, so I asked Ranma to take me with him."  
  
"You mean, you two ran off together?" Tenchi asked them.  
  
"I care deeply for Ranma, I have for a long time, but until recently I never voiced my thoughts because I didn't want to betray you sister's trust." Kasumi added.  
  
"I never even knew she liked me until she asked me to take her with me." Ranma smiled as he looked into the girl's eyes. "Though, I'm worried about her. I know Shampoo and the old ghoul will be following us and I don't know what they'll do when they find us."  
  
"Who is this Shampoo person?" Aeka asked.  
  
"She is a Nyanchiczu, a Chinese Amazon." Kasumi told her. "Ranma defeated her in a fight by accident, but they have a law that says that if any outsider male defeat a warrior that warrior must make him her husband."  
  
"So this Shampoo girl will be showing up sometime to collect you then?" Washu asked.  
  
"Her and that ancient wrinkled up old prune of a great grandmother of hers." Ranma sighed.  
  
"Shampoo, her name is Shampoo?" Ryoko asked with amusement.  
  
"It just sounds like that." Ranma shrugged.  
  
"There is also Kuonji Ukyo as well." said Kasumi and Ranma sighed. "She is another of Ranma's iinazuke. When Ranma was very young, he was betrothed to Mr. Kuonji's daughter Ukyo by his father."  
  
"And pop stole her dowry and left her at the side of the road like the baka he is." Ranma spat in disgust. "At the time I didn't even know she was a girl until I found out by accident when she came to Nerima and attacked me."  
  
Noboyuki laughed. "Sounds like Tenchi and Ranma do have quite a bit in common." He looked over at Ryoko and she just stuck her tongue out at him in annoyance.  
  
* * *  
  
"Where am I now?"  
  
Habiki Ryoga took in the scenery around him. He was in a city, but which one he was not sure. The streets seemed to very familiar to him. People were going about their business on the street around him. Most of them wore school uniforms. It suddenly struck Ryoko, the girls were wearing the cyan colored school uniforms of Furinken High School. That meant he was back in Tokyo, Nerima to be exact, and he was close to Akane. An hour of wandering around, getting lost inside a Chinese laundry, crawling through a tunnel, and climbing over snow covered cliffs he finally arrived at the gates to the high school.  
  
"Ryoga." came a call from behind him. Turning around his gaze fell upon a vision of absolute loveliness, the source of his joy and his pain. Tendo Akane.  
  
"Uh, hi Akane." he said scratching the back of his head.  
  
"I thought you were on a training trip." she replied with a smile, a smile that even to the normally clueless Ryoga seemed sad.  
  
"You look sad Akane, why?" Ryoga asked her. "What did Ranma do this time?"  
  
Akane looked away, the sad look on her face intensified for a moment. In the park near the school Akane sat with Ryoga, for a long time she did not say anything. Akane's silence was bothering the Lost Boy. What could Ranma have done to Akane to make her act like this? When the woman he loved looked up at him she had tears in her eyes.  
  
"Oh Ryoga!" she cried burying her face in his chest.  
  
"A-A-Akane!" Ryoga gasped in shock, his mind was a whirl with emotions. Fear and joy swirled around one another like a tornado, fueling the roaring maelstrom was anger. Anger and rage towards one person; Ranma. Neither knew how much time passed, when Akane's sobbing stopped she found herself in Ryoga's arms. His face was a mask of worry and anger. She knew who he was angry with. How was he going to take the new?  
  
"Ranma is gone." she said.  
  
"Gone?" Ryoga said questioningly.  
  
"We had a big fight, and he left." she told him. "And, Kasumi went with him."  
  
Ryoga gasped, his eyes growing to the size of dinner plates. "They ran off together, Ranma and Kasumi!"  
  
Akane nodded in response. "Yesterday."  
  
Damn you Ranma, how could you do that to Akane!, Ryoga seethed inwardly. "Why would Kasumi willingly leave with Ranma?" he asked Akane. Probably kidnapped her, the sick freak.  
  
Akane wiped away the tears and said, "I think she had feelings for him. Kasumi used to sit with Ranma for hours and they'd talk. Ranma and I never talked, I think that was the problem. I thought I really knew Ranma but after he left I began to realized that I never really knew him at all. I only thought I did. It was Kasumi who spent time talking to him, listening to his problems, getting to know him. While I kept accusing him of things he never did." She could not continue, the tears returned. Akane cupped her face in her hands and her shoulders shook as the sobs took over.  
  
"Akane, I-I-I don't know what to say, I-" Ryoga stammered, stunned at Akane admission.  
  
"Ryoga, I really screwed up, I screwed up bad." Akane cried. "I drove away the man I love. Yes, I loved Ranma, and I still do."  
  
Ryoga put his arm around her shoulder to reassure her. His nervousness and skittishness around girls, especially Akane, was forgotten. "Don't, please don't hate Ranma for leaving." she said, looking into his eyes.  
  
"Do, do you know where they are?" Ryoga asked her. Akane shook her head.  
  
"They left in the middle of the night, we haven't heard from them since." she said.  
  
Ryoga smiled and asked, "What if I find them?"  
  
Akane turned to him gripping his hands in hers, her eyes filling with sparkles. "Ryoga, would you really? Could you find them?"  
  
"I could try." Ryoga told her scratching the back of his head. "For some reason I usually somehow manage to find my way to Ranma even if I'm not really looking for him."  
  
The Lost Boy was happy to see a smile on Akane's face and little laugh surface through her sadness. "Thank you Ryoga, you're really a good friend." she said.  
  
Ryoga sighed sadly. Sometime later the two parted after Ryoga treated Akane to some ice cream at a nearby shop. As he watched her disappear around a corner the Lost Boy reached out an shattered a nearby wall. Ranma, if you could only see what you've done to Akane. Because of you she thinks she is the one in the wrong and not you for running off with her sister. What did you do, seduce her?  
  
"I'll make you pay, Saotome Ranma, I'll make you pay!"  
  
**********  
  
TO BE CONTINUED...  
  
Next up in Chapter 3: The Seeds of Love  
  
The Seeds of Love have been planted, and now they need nurturing and care to germinate and grow. Three weeks have passed since Ranma and Kasumi left Nerima for the mountains of Okayama, in that time they have grown closer. Meanwhile, Akane meets Kuno Tatawaki on his first day back to school since going to the hospital, but her encounter with the captain of the Kendo team casts the Blue Thunder in a new light. It could be the beginning of a new direction in Akane's life. 


	3. Chapter 3

DISCLAIMER: "Ranma 1/2" is a registered trademark and copyright of Viz Communications, Kitty Productions, Shogakugan, Inc., and Rumiko Takahashi. All Rights Reserved. "Tenchi Muyo! Ryo-Ohki" is a registered trademark and copyright of Pioneer, LDC., AIC, Inc., and Kajishima Masaki. All Rights Reserved. "Onegai Teacher" is the registered trademark of Bandai Visual. All Rights Reserved. All other random Anime characters belong to their own specific trademark and copyright holders whomever they may be.  
  
**********  
  
THE WARRIOR AND THE PEACEMAKER  
  
by Michael "TheZorch" Haney  
  
**********  
  
Chapter 3: The Seeds of Love  
  
Tendo Akane yawned as she sat up in bed and stretched. Going to be early the other night had been a good idea, she felt great this morning. She did miss, however, the ever present sound of two men fighting outside her window. It was one of the many things that Tendo Akane had to get used to since Ranma and Kasumi mysteriously disappeared in the night three weeks ago. She climbed out of bed and headed downstairs with her bath supplies for her morning toilet. At the foot of the stairs she could hear Nabiki give our a loud curse from the kitchen. Akane went to go see what happened and found her older sister at the sink running cold water over her fingers.  
  
"How did Kasumi make doing this look so damn easy?" the girl with page boy haircut muttered under her breath.  
  
"Hey Nabiki, you alright?" Akane asked her.  
  
"I burned myself on the stove, again." Nabiki said with a sigh. "If Kasumi was going to run off I wish she would have left instructions on how o do this."  
  
"Any luck in finding them?" Akane asked noticing Nabiki's cell phone sitting on the counter.  
  
"No new developments, at least none of my friends in Hokkaido have seen them." said Nabiki. She turned to Akane and gave her a mischievous smirk. "By the way, Kuno baby is coming back to school today."  
  
Akane sighed, "How is he, have you heard?"  
  
"The word is he was born with a very rare brain disease that was never diagnosed until just now." Nabiki explained. "The name is really long and you'd twist your tongue trying to say it. Normally its supposed to be fatal if it starts causing seizures and blackouts, but I guess they have it under control with drugs now."  
  
"Wow!" Akane exclaimed. "Do you think he's changed any?"  
  
If he has there goes one of my most lucrative sources of income., thought Nabiki. She shrugged her shoulders and said, "Don't know, but I guess we'll find out today won't we." The two heard the sound of someone on heavy feet tromping down the stairs.  
  
"Better get breakfast going, Mr. Saotome is up and daddy with be up soon." Akane said as she headed towards the bathroom. Nabiki went back to the stove and started on breakfast again. It was not long before she heard another voice from out in the hall.  
  
"Oh, Akane, you don't mind if I take my bath with you?" WACK!!! Nabiki shook her head as she heard Happosai scream as he went trying out of the house by Akane mallet power.  
  
*****  
  
Ranma loved waking up at the Masaki home. For one thing, he loved the smell of Sasami's cooking. She might be a little kid but man can she cook. Her cooking might even be better than Kasumi's, but he would never tell her that. He smiled when he thought about Kasumi. Leaving the Tendo home with her was probably the best decision he had ever made in his entire life. Kasumi was great, she never placed any outrageous demands on him, never criticized him for his faults, never made fun of his curse, and most of all she treated him with a loving respect. Her hugs were not the "I Got You Now" glomps of Shampoo or Ukyo, no they meant a lot more and felt so different. That was when something drifted into his memory making the young pig tailed martial artist smile. It had been two weeks ago when the family went into town on a shopping trip. He had been in a shop and picked up something he knew Kasumi would like. When he gave it to her the smile on her face was more than worth the expense of the yen he paid, and then she leaned forward and kissed him on the cheek. If there was any girl in the world who could capture the heart of Saotome Ranma it would have to be the sweet Tendo Kasumi.  
  
Ranma looked over at Tenchi's bed and saw that he was already up about about, even his bed was made up. So, he got up, folded his sheets, and then folded up his futon sleeping mat so he could put it in the corner. Sharing a room with Masaki Tenchi was not bad at all Ranma discovered. He did not like to play loud music, had an interest in martial arts, usually went to sleep early, and was an all around really nice kid. No wonder he had a house full of crazy girls all trying to win his heart. That thought made Ranma sigh, he knew what Tenchi was going through.  
  
"Good morning Ranma." said Aeka when Ranma slid open the bedroom door and stepped outside. He turned to her just as she was coming up from her polite bow. Aeka, it turned out, was a much nicer person to be around than Ranma had thought. Her laughed still gave him goose bumps at times when she and Ryoko had their moments.  
  
"Ohaiyo" he replied in greeting. "You're just getting up?"  
  
"Sometimes I sleep in." she said with a gentle smile.  
  
"Tenchi's up already." Ranma told her. Before he could say anything more the girl was headed for the stairs at a quick but dignified pace. Ranma just sighed and shook his head. He really knew what Tenchi was going through.  
  
"The dead have finally awakened." said Ryoko when Ranma got to the foot of the stairs. "You could sleep through an intergalactic war, you know that."  
  
I preferred waking up to Akane's sarcasm to this freaky girl., Ranma said to himself. "At least I sleep at night, not all day like some people."  
  
"That's Mihoshi's job." Ryoko smirked at him.  
  
"Oh, yeah, I forgot, your job is to annoy the hell outta me every morning." Ranma said with his most antagonistic smile, the same one that usually sent Ryoga flying off into a rage. "Isn't it?"  
  
Ryoko just laughed it off saying, "Whatever, fem boy." And with that she left him fuming as she phased through the wall.  
  
"Oh, you're up, good morning Ranma." Kasumi said with a cute little bow when same came to the kitchen door.  
  
"Uh, good morning Kasumi, you're helping Sasami in the kitchen?" he asked her.  
  
"A little, she really is a great cook for someone so young, isn't she." said Kasumi with a sweet smile. It seemed that everything Kasumi did was either cute or sweet to Ranma's eyes.  
  
"You're not too bad either." Ranma told her. "That dish you made last night was great."  
  
"It was one of mother's old recipes." Kasumi blushed.  
  
"I'm gonna go out back and do some kata before breakfast." he said. As he walked by he was a curious look on Kasumi's face. Somehow, as if by instinct, Ranma knew what Kasumi wanted. Never before had Ranma kissed a girl on purpose, nor had he really wanted to. Today was different. When the kiss broke Kasumi opened her eyes showing an expression of intense love behind them. The giggle of a little girl from the kitchen caught there attention.  
  
"I caught you." said Sasami as she peered out at them. "Naughty, naughty."  
  
"Maybe she wants one too, don't you think Ranma?" Kasumi said playfully. Taking that cue Ranma started towards the little blue haired girl with a wicked smile. Sasami suddenly yelped and disappeared into he kitchen. They laughed before Ranma went on his way outside and Kasumi returned to the kitchen.  
  
"They're getting along well." remarked Aeka who watched the whole scene from the living room.  
  
"I think they're cute together." said Mihoshi.  
  
"Yup, he's definitely fallen head over heels." said Washu as she nodded her head before taking a sip of morning tea.  
  
"It would be nice if Tenchi were so bold." Aeka sighed.  
  
"We gotta give him more time, Tenchi will come around sooner or later." said Washu. And, I see my daughter had gotten a head start today., she said to herself as her mind's eye picked up a glimpse of the world from Ryoko's point of view. The image was brief, but it stop a thousand words. She was in the onsen trying to scrub Tenchi's back again. Washu had to applaud Ryoko for her persistence, she never gave up no matter what. She did notice little things about Tenchi and Ryoko, after all she was the greatest scientific genius in the universe, and what she saw told her that Ryoko was slowly but surely winning the race to the young man's heart over the other girls. Everyday Tenchi's protest became less and less forceful around Ryoko, and when freaked out in the onsen every morning when Ryoko showed up to "scrub" his back his freak-out was less violent by a certain degree. Oh yes, she was winning inch by inch, all she needed to do was keep pushing. It made Washu feel proud of her little girl, but sad at the same time because she once had hopes of stealing the young boy's heart also. Being 20,000 years old and being alone for most of that time Washu was getting lonely. She never imagined ever loving again after her failed marriage thousands of years ago before everything with Kagato happened. Tenchi had changed all that.  
  
"Ranma doesn't seem too bad either, at least he and Ryoko haven't been in too big a fight since that one day." said Mihoshi.  
  
"Except for the curse, he is quite respectable." Aeka commented.  
  
"He seems a little nervous sometimes, usually when he's outside." said Washu. "Like he's expecting someone to come out of nowhere to attack him. Its classic Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, but only to a lesser degree with Ranma. I guess those stories Kasumi told us about the young man's life in Nerima might not be an exaggeration."  
  
Aeka looked out the patio doors from where she was sitting and saw Ranma performing a kata she had never seen before. His movements where smooth and fluid, almost like a dance, it surprised her at how the young man was able to put so much grace into martial arts practice. "He really is something else, isn't he." she remarked.  
  
Washu followed her gaze and watched the boy's performance. "Did you know he can control the flow of chi through his extremities to enhance his own speed and strength to nearly a hundred fold, and of course there is that chi blast he used against Ryoko." she said. "A remarkable specimen."  
  
"You still haven't gotten him into your lab, have you?" Aeka asked her.  
  
Washu's face drooped and she said, "No."  
  
"Tenchi told him about the time she had him in the lab and tried to get a sperm sample from him." Mihoshi giggled. "I guess it freaked him out."  
  
"Miss. Washu!" Aeka shouted. "You did what to Lord Tenchi?"  
  
Washu put her hands defensively and said, "It was purely for scientific reasons, really."  
  
"So why were you in that skimpy nurses outfit?" Mihoshi asked.  
  
There were times when Washu wondered if Mihoshi's "blond bimbo air head" act was just that, an act. This was one of those times. "Oh my, look at the time, those experiments of mine won't perform themselves, buh bye!" Washu said quickly as she retreated quickly to her lab.  
  
"Really, that women, honestly!" Aeka humphed loudly.  
  
*****  
  
Tenchi and Ryoko came out of the onsen in time to see Ranma finish his kata. Tenchi did like to practice with his grandfather at times, his teaching methods could sometimes be harsh, but it helped him keep in shape and help him concentrate his mind. Well, most of that time. He stood there transfixed by Ranma's movements, by the sheer gracefulness he put into his performance as if he were performing a dance. Tenchi had not been home to see Ranma's fight with Ryoko but what he heard from the others told him the pig tailed boy was formidable. He was tough enough to take on Ryoko by himself and beat her in a hand to hand fight. That was saying a lot about his martial arts ability.  
  
"He does those exercises every morning." said Ryoko.  
  
"Ranma was raised on the road with his father for ten years learning the martial arts." Tenchi explained. "Kasumi told me that Ranma and his father were always up at the crack of dawn practicing in the back yard back at home."  
  
"He's ok." Ryoko said noncommittally.  
  
"He beat you didn't he?" Tenchi said and Ryoko cringed.  
  
"He got lucky that's all, I underestimated him and it cost me." she replied quickly in her own defense.  
  
"Grandpa says he's never seen a fighter like Ranma before." said Tenchi. "He's never seen anyone who can do what he does without special strength enhancements."  
  
"Washu sorta thinks he's distantly related to the Juraians." Ryoko replied.  
  
"Well, he seems a nice enough guy." Tenchi shrugged.  
  
Ryoko teleported in from of him and put her hands on her shoulders. "He's a human quantum singularity, before Mihoshi I never thought I would ever meet anyone who could eat so much at one time." she said.  
  
"And you don't pig out every once in a while?" Tenchi pointed at her accusingly with a crooked smile on his face.  
  
"At least I take the time to 'taste' my food before it goes down." Ryoko said. "He eats like someone's gonna suddenly yank his bowl out of his hands any minute."  
  
"Exactly, that was how he was raised." Tenchi replied and Ryoko's jaw dropped in surprise. "Kasumi has been telling me all she knows about Ranma, and I gotta say its amazing how he turned out to such a nice guy being raise by a father that was such a jerk."  
  
"Wait, you mean his father used to steal his food?" Ryoko asked him in a disbelieving tone.  
  
Tenchi nodded, "His father called it practice, they'd fight over food everyday, breakfast and dinner. Sometimes lunch when Ranma didn't have any school."  
  
Ryoko looked over the young martial artist again and looked at him. This time she saw him in a slightly different light, she had no way of knowing his life had been that hard before coming here. "That's nothing, wait until you hear about all the iinazuke he has." Tenchi said with a smile when he saw the look on Ryoko's face.  
  
*****  
  
The day at Furinken High began like it usually did that past few weeks; completely without incident. With Ranma's departure Akane had feared a return of the Hentai Horde, but to her surprise they did not reassemble to continue their pursuit of her affection by clobbering her. She did have other problems on her hands at school. It took nearly a weeks for Ukyo to stop treating her like trash whenever she saw her and she was actually trying to be civil. Akane could not help but notice the slight lines under Ukyo's eyes. The girl had been crying herself to sleep almost every night, and it was starting to show. The youngest Tendo sister never realized just how much Ukyo really loved Ranma until now. The Amazons were another issue altogether. Though she had seen very little of them Shampoo still blamed her for Ranma running off. Akane was certain that they would have left by this time, but they stayed around in Nerima. With some help from Nabiki, Akane did find out that the Amazons obtained the services of a private detective in an effort to track Ranma down. A part of her hoped they did find him, and another part hoped they did not. She wanted to find him to tell him she was sorry and to tell him how much he really did mean to her, but another part of her was afraid. She was afraid that Ranma did not love her at all, and that her own out of control temper caused him fall out of love with her. It was this that she feared the most. And, if it was true that Kasumi did go with him and did love him she did not want to get in the way. Dr. Tofu had taken Kasumi's departure hard and went on sabbatical.  
  
The Furinken campus was bustling with activity when Akane and Nabiki walked through the gates, a little more activity than usual. Akane saw her friends Yuka and Sayori come out of the crowd and waved to them.  
  
"What's going on, is that baka principle unveiling a new regulation hairstyle or something?" Akane asked them.  
  
"No, Kuno is coming back to school today, he's been released from the hospital." Yuka told her.  
  
"Is Kuno baby here?" Nabiki asked them. Sayori shook her head.  
  
"No, he's supposed to arrive soon." she said.  
  
A series of loud outbursts from the crowd drew their attention and the girls moved quickly and pushed their way through the students to get a good look. The story of Kuno passing out in the gym had become a well known story at Furinken High. Thanks to Nabiki knowledge of his medical problem was common knowledge, and she walked away with a rather large sum of cash for her efforts. The crowd had gathered not out of concern for Kuno though, but more out of morbid fascination. There were few at the school who actually cared about the bokken welding upperclassman.  
  
A black limo drove up to the front gates of the school and the driver quickly exited and held open the door for his passenger. Kuno Tatawaki climbed out of the back seat and a gasp went up in the crowd. He was wearing a standard Furinken boy's uniform, that alone was not really the cause for surprise, but it was the look in the young man's eyes. They were the eyes of a man who had been awakened to a new world, all full of energy, of spirit, and awareness. They were eyes not dulled and clouded over by self-doubt and self-denial, but the eyes of enlightenment.  
  
"He looks different." Yuka commented.  
  
"No kidding." said Akane.  
  
"I'll have a good talk with him in homeroom." Nabiki said. "I'll tell all of you everything, for the usual fee of course." With that everyone within earshot groaned.  
  
The rest of the school day went by as it usually did since Ranma left. Nothing out of the ordinary happened. It seemed like when the pig tailed martial artist left all the chaos that surrounded his life left with him. Akane at first loved it, but as she sat under "their" tree for lunch with Yuka and Sayori she started to miss all the craziness that seemed to go along with being Ranma's iinazuke. It seemed like this day was going to be an ordinary day, nothing unusual happening, until Akane noticed that Kuno was walking towards them holding a bouquet of flowers.  
  
"Tendo Akane, I want to give these to you as a token of my most heartfelt apology for all the things I have done to you." the young man said and extended the flowers out to her. Akane took them with a stunned expression on her face. She looked at the flowers, not the red roses she was used to getting from him, but regular flowers of different colors and hues. She looked up at him as the boy pull out a folded piece of paper. Written on it was the name Saotome Ranma.  
  
"And, could you please see that this goes to Ranma?" he asked her. "No doubt he would not appreciate a bouquet of flowers, but this letter should be suitable apology."  
  
The young man turned around and walked away without another word. Akane opened the letter for Ranma and her friends grouped around her to read it too.  
  
Dear Saotome Ranma,  
  
There is no possible way for me to apologize for the way I have made your life difficult while attending Furinken High School. For this I hope that you forgive me. It is my desire that you have a peaceful life and that you one day find a way to cure your unfortunate condition. It is due to this condition that I feel great shame, for I have done wrong against you due to this condition, and I hope you will find it in your heart to one day forgive me.  
  
Sincerely,  
  
Kuno Tatawaki  
  
"He knows, he knows about Ranma's curse." Yuka said with surprise.  
  
"I guess he's always known, but couldn't bring himself to want to believe it." said Akane. Her two friends nodded in agreement.  
  
"What are you going to do now?" Sayori asked Akane. "I mean, I guess this means Kuno isn't going to be after you anymore doesn't it."  
  
"I don't know." said Akane. "I'm not going to start seeing the guy if that's what you're asking. But, it wouldn't hurt to be friends."  
  
Yuka looked up and saw Nabiki running towards them. "Here comes Nabiki." she said.  
  
"You three will not believe what just happened to me." Nabiki said when she stopped in front of them and knelled down.  
  
"What?" the three asked at the same time.  
  
"Kuno baby just asked me out for a date!" Nabiki replied with excitement.  
  
Akane looked at her with surprise. "Kuno asked you out for a date." she said.  
  
The other two girls were immediately excited. "Did you say yes?" Yuka asked her. Nabiki nodded.  
  
"You accepted!" Akane exclaimed looking at her older sister in shock.  
  
"He got down on his knee and everything." Nabiki told them. "He actually knelt down and asked me right in front of everybody."  
  
"Wow." Sayori breathed.  
  
"He's changed, he's changed so much I can hardly believe he's the same Kuno." Nabiki explained. "We had a long talk in homeroom class before the teacher came in. He knows about Ranma's curse and is really ashamed about it, and he really hates what he put you through Akane. He actually feels remorse over it."  
  
"He just came and gave me this as an apology, and a letter of apology for Ranma." Akane said showing her the flowers and the letter.  
  
"This is so unreal, Kuno Tatawaki acting like a normal guy." Yuka laughed. "Furinken isn't going to be the same anymore."  
  
No, it was never the same since Ranma left., Akane told herself with a sigh.  
  
*****  
  
Tengawa High School did not seem all that different from Furinken High School, except for the lack of a crazy principle and his pineapple bombs, and the deranged wannabe samurai. This school, a small school on the outskirts near Okayama was ordinary with nothing really out of the ordinary at all. The students were all very nice, and Ranma was really getting to like his homeroom classmates. Tenchi had a different homeroom, unfortunately, but they did get together for lunch.  
  
The teacher reminded Ranma of Kasumi, a Kasumi who dressed in closes that were a little tight, wore a pair of small spectacles, and had mane of fiery red hair that reminded him of his feminine half. Luckily, the curse had not decided to do anything that would reveal his "condition" to his classmates. They were a really nice bunch of kids, they welcomed him into the classroom with enthusiasm. Actually, it was the girls who showed the most enthusiasm to the annoyance of a few of the boys.  
  
Kusanagi Kei was the quiet one. His build reminded Ranma of Gosunkugi but he was a lot more handsome than him and wore glasses. He was a really nice guy and very friendly. He did notice that one of the girls in the class liked him a lot. Whenever she went to his desk she's puff out her chest in an attempt to get his attention. His keen eye for detail did notice that Ms. Kazami would grip her pencil or pointer so firmly at those times her fingers actually turned white. Ranma was wondering about that, and the fact that he vibe he was getting from her chi was all wrong for some reason.  
  
Magumo Hyosuke was the class clown. Ranma saw a lot of himself in the blond haired boy except for the lack of any real martial arts skill. He was a jock, was pretty good at sports, and to Ranma's surprise he was actually pretty smart too. For all the goofing off he did Hyosuke actually found time to do his homework and got good grades in class. A real contrast to Kei who was struggling a little at his schoolwork.  
  
Herikawa Koishi reminded Ranma of a nicer, kinder Akane. She was not into martial arts either. She was the girl who had the ever so obvious crush on Kei. She was very nice, had a pleasant voice, and was always seen helping Kei with his schoolwork between school periods.  
  
Shido Matagu was Hyosuke's best friend and partner in crime. They could be seen almost everywhere in town or on campus together. Them and Kei usually, and almost all the time Ranma would see the entire class together on the school lawn eating lunch. Matagu was the one who invited Ranma to join them for lunch one day, and it was then that Ranma discovered that Koishi usually came to school with more food than she could possibly eat. Everyone was surprise at how much he could eat at one time, even Hyosuke who was a human vacuum cleaner. Matagu seemed like Hyosuke's polar opposite. Where Hyosuke was loud and outgoing, Matagu was quiet and polite. He was really likable and he and Ranma got along very well.  
  
Misumi Kaeda was beautiful, but she seemed distant as well except when it came to Hyosuke. Ranma soon learned that she was Hyosuke's girlfriend and possible iinazuke if things worked out. If that were so Ranma wished them good luck. She was a friendly girl, not too outgoing, but Ranma could feel something in her chi that told him something was not quite right. He also felt the same thing from Kei, only with him it was not so pronounced, and it was nowhere nearly as weird as the teacher's.  
  
Morino Ichigo frightened Ranma a little. She seemed a little young for high school and it turned out she was a local child prodigy. She was extremely observant and very intelligent, but something about her gave him the creeps. She seemed too much like a colder, younger Nabiki for his tastes. Ichigo had no problem speaking her mind, and if she had something to say she was not afraid to voice her opinions.  
  
Ms. Kazami Mizuho was possibly the cutest teacher that Ranma has ever seen since Ms. Hinako. She dressed in a fashion that was both sex and conservative at the same time. It was a look that was very hard to pull off, and she did it seemingly with ease. Ranma learned she had been at the school for only a year and everyone in the class loved her. She did remind Ranma a lot of Kasumi, her mannerisms, her soft spoken voice, and even the sound of her laughter made him think about older Tendo sister who loved him so much. As a consequence, they go along with one another very well. Ranma had been reluctant to return to school so soon after leaving Nerima, but with friends like these and a teacher that was so sweet and kind he felt more at home here than he ever did back in Furinken.  
  
As with anything in Saotome Ranma's life whenever his life reached an all time high something would come along to bring it down to an all time low. That time was coming sooner than he realized or even anticipated. Little did he know, but a man doing a search of names in a database at the central office of the Okayama school board found Ranma's file. He immediately printed a copy, put it into his briefcase, and headed out to his car. After driving away from the building the man pulled out his cell phone and made a quick call.  
  
"Hello, this Mr. Tanaka, can I speak with Ms. Cologne?" he asked the young man who answered the phone.  
  
"Ms. Cologne, I think I found your boy." he said when Cologne came to the phone. "Six feet tall, dark hair, blue eyes, wears a pig tail and dresses in Chinese style clothes. Yes, I have a school photo of him right here from his records. I had to pull a lot of strings before they would give me access to their records. He's attending Tengawa High School just outside Okayama."  
  
"No, no sign of the girl Tendo Kasumi, but I've only been in town for a day or so." he went on. "If she is here I'll find out. I have the photo of her you gave me. She's a pretty thing. Anyway, that's what I got for you this time, hopefully this one isn't a false alarm."  
  
Mr. Tanaka nodded and said, "And thank you Ms. Cologne. Goodbye."  
  
Back in Nerima, Cologne hung up the phone and pogo sticked her way up stairs to Shampoo's bedroom. Since Ranma left the girl had been very depressed, and took to staying in her room when she was not working in the restaurant. Cologne knocked on her door and Shampoo let her in.  
  
"Begin packing, the Private Eye I hired found him." she told her in Mandarin.  
  
"That is what you said about the last time he called." Shampoo replied in Mandarin.  
  
"This time he matched up the boy's description and I'm positive he found him this time." Cologne encouraged her. "We leave in the morning for Okayama."  
  
"Okayama?" Shampoo looked at her in surprise.  
  
"Yes, apparently he's attending school there now." Cologne explained.  
  
"What about Tendo Kasumi?" Shampoo asked with a little apprehension in her voice. Attacking Akane to get to Ranma had been one thing, but attacking Kasumi for the same thing or even thinking about trying to hurt the gentle girl seemed so alien to Shampoo.  
  
"None as of yet, but I personally she is there." Cologne admitted.  
  
"What do we do if she is there?" Shampoo asked her.  
  
Cologne shock her head, "I do not know, I feel no ill towards the eldest Tendo girl, she is very sweet and gentle. Perhaps a different course of action will be needed with her instead of what we have been attempting with Tendo Akane."  
  
"Alright." Shampoo smiled eagerly. Personally, Shampoo really liked Kasumi and did not want to see the girl get hurt. If her great grandmother had a less violent means to get Ranma she would go for it. If anything, Amazons were know for their ability to adapt to any situation. However, are they prepared to deal with what they were going to discover in a certain house sitting next to a lake in the mountains of Okayama?  
  
*****  
  
Ranma let out a loud belch. Kasumi made his lunch today and it was like all of her lunches; simply delicious. Only Sasami's cooking tasted almost as good, and though she was a little girl her cooking was better than both Shampoo's and Ukyo's. "Good one Saotome!" Hyosuke congratulated him.  
  
"Hyosuke!" Koishi scolded him then turned to Ranma. "That's disgusting Ranma!"  
  
Hyosuke sounded off with his own loud discharge. "Hey, its a guy thing." he said.  
  
"We are trying to eat here." Koishi said.  
  
"Say, Ranma, where's your friend at?" Matagu asked him.  
  
Ranma shrugged, "Tenchi? Don't know, haven't seen him all day."  
  
"You're living at his house, right?" Hyosuke asked.  
  
"Yeah, its pretty cool there." said Ranma. "There's lots of room for doing my kata, and me and Tenchi get to practice with his grandfather. Although I'm not really into Kendo, my thing is my Kempo."  
  
"You talk about martial arts likes the most important thing in the world." said Kaede.  
  
"I'm the heir to the Saotome School of Anything Goes Martial Arts, of course its important!" Ranma replied loudly.  
  
"Anything Goes?" Kei said questioningly. "What sort of martial arts style is that?"  
  
"Its a variation on several styles." Ranma explained. "Its a combination of Japanese Kempo, Chinese Kung Fu, Chinese Wu Shu, and Japanese Karate specializing in aerial fighting techniques."  
  
"Boys." Kaede and Koishi said at the same time.  
  
"Sounds pretty cool to me." said Hyosuke.  
  
"What's so big about being able to beat the crap out people, I mean this isn't the feudal era anymore so why would you need all that?" Koishi asked.  
  
Ranma gave the girl who reminded him of a more mellow Akane a knowing expression. If you only knew., he said to himself. "Its plenty useful, especially for winning martial arts tournaments, and other stuff." he told her.  
  
"You follow the Code of Bushido." Ichigo said, speaking up for the first time.  
  
"Yeah, I do." said Ranma.  
  
"You know about 'A Book of Five Rings'." she said.  
  
"Who don't?" Ranma said with a laugh. Miyamoto Musashi's classical book on military strategy was one book that he actually did like to read.  
  
"I mean, how often do you really have to use all those martial arts abilities?" Koishi asked Ranma.  
  
Again, if you only knew., Ranma said to himself with a smile. "Well, it is a martial artist's duty to protect the weak, and to deal with monsters and stuff." he said.  
  
Kaede and Koishi both suddenly laugh. "Monsters?" Yeah, little annoying ones who like to steal women's underwear for instance., Ranma thought.  
  
"Oh yeah, monsters are real." Ranma said in a matter-of-fact like manner. "Have you ever heard of place called Ryogenawa?"  
  
"Isn't that a nature preserve up near Tokyo?" Matagu said questioningly.  
  
"Anyway, there's stuff out there you guy ain't ever seen before." Ranma told them. "I've seen things you won't believe over the years."  
  
Ichigo pointed off to to the right and said, "Like him?" Everyone turned their attention across the schoolyard and saw a man in green clothes carrying a huge backpack and wearing a yellow tiger striped headband.  
  
"I've never seen him around before." said Kei.  
  
"Where did Ranma go?" Hyosuke asked when he noticed the pig tailed martial artist was not around anymore.  
  
"He, he was just here." Koishi said with surprise.  
  
"Excuse me, but can you tell me where I can find the Tendo dojo?" the young man asked after he walked across the schoolyard towards them. He withdrew a small map and handed it to Hyosuke.  
  
"Hmm, this is a map of Tokyo." he said. "You're in Okayama."  
  
"Okayama?" the man said, took back the map, and crinkled it in his fist. "Thanks, sorry to have bothered you." They watched as he turned around and headed back in the direction he came from. A few minutes later, when he was out of sight, Ranma frightened them all when he leapt out of the nearby tree.  
  
"Oh man, he's all I need around here." he muttered.  
  
"You know that guy?" Hyosuke asked him.  
  
"Uh, whatever you guys do, if you see him again please don't tell him you know me." Ranma pleaded.  
  
"Why?" Koishi asked him. "You got something to hide, Saotome?"  
  
Ranma suddenly looked nervous. No I don't wanna turn your school into a war zone if you don't mind., he replied silently in his thoughts. "He's an old friend, but we don't really get along and if he finds out where I'm living now it could get ugly."  
  
Hyosuke gets up and slaps Ranma on the back. "No problem, you're our new buddy, right everybody?" he says. The whole group nods emphatically.  
  
"Thanks guys, you don't how happy that makes me." said Ranma.  
  
*****  
  
Later that day Tenchi wakes Ranma when their bus arrives at their stop and the two start the walk home. Ranma really did not mind this part of the trip to school. The high school in the local city where the Masaki home used to be was much too far to commute, and their current school was a long ways off as well but it was the only one close enough. He did wished there was a fence he could walk on. Ranma missed walking along the fence to and from school. It helped him keep up his perfect balance which was a necessity for the Saotome branch of the Anything Goes School of Martial Arts. When they arrived home the girls all gathered to greet them. Tenchi's gaggle of gals gathered around him while Kasumi and Sasami greeted Ranma when they came through the door and shed their shoes for a pair of house slippers.  
  
After dinner Ranma went into the kitchen. Kasumi stood at the sink happily humming while she washed the dishes. Sasami had excused herself to go tend to the laundry so it gave him a chance to talk to her alone. He slipped into the room walking silently, hiding his presence as best he could.  
  
"Hello Ranma." Kasumi said sweetly.  
  
"Man, I can never sneak up on you." he said and snapped his fingers. His face quickly became very serious. "I saw Ryoga today."  
  
"Oh that's nice." she said still happily washing the dishes.  
  
"No, it ain't nice if he finds out where we are." Ranma tells her. "He didn't see me but he could go back and tell the old ghoul just to piss me off if he did."  
  
"Oh my, that would not be good at all." said Kasumi as she turned towards him with a look on concern on her face. "Are you sure he didn't see you?"  
  
"Pretty sure, he didn't start yelling 'Ranma prepare to die' or anything like that." he said. "He just asked my friends at school direction to the Tendo dojo and left."  
  
"If he didn't see you then there isn't really anything to worry about." Kasumi smiled.  
  
"I hope so, I don't want the old ghoul finding out where we are." he said. "I ain't got no idea what she might try to do, and I don't want you getting hurt."  
  
"You're again she might try to hurt me." Kasumi said in surprise.  
  
"Yeah, you're like my girlfriend and stuff." he replied blushing furiously. "I don't anything bad to happen to ya."  
  
Kasumi walked over to him and kissed his cheek. "You're so sweet Ranma." she said softly. Ranma blushed intensely and forced himself not to run off. He looked up into her eyes and found himself drawn into them. Is this what love feels like?, he asked himself. He never felt this way with Akane, not totally like this, but he did feel something at one time. This, this was more intense, stronger, and it felt good to feel this way. Before long he found himself hugging her tightly in his arms. He never did this with Akane, he would never dare try. There had been times when he did want to hold her, but was always afraid she would misinterpret as him trying to do something perverted. Often Ranma wondered exactly what it was that he did to her that was perverted at all, except for accidentally seeing her in the nude the same day he and his pop arrived at the Tendo dojo. Ranma did have to admit, Akane did have a great body. All of her self training in martial arts and the fights with the boys at school kept her in shape. Kasumi had inherited a great deal of her mother's beauty. He remembered seeing pictures of Tendo Kiriko in one of Akane's photo albums, and Kasumi looked a lot like her. Where Akane was maybe cute, Kasumi was gorgeous, almost as beautiful as Shampoo, and much better looking than even Ukyo.  
  
With her so close he could feel Kasumi's body pressed against his. Her conservative dresses hid much of her figure, but Ranma had seen her in swimsuits before and knew she had an incredible figure. Just knowing it was right there pressed against him was a major distraction. There was no way he could resist noticing the two soft mounds pressing into his chest. Two very soft, firm, round mounds.  
  
"Uh, you want any help with the dishes?" he asked after swallowing, very hard.  
  
Kasumi smiled and said, "Thank you, I could use a little help." She was about to go back to the sink, but look at him again and peered into his eyes.  
  
"I know you have a hard time saying it sometimes, Ranma." she said to him. "But your eyes say everything I ever wanted to hear from you. I love you too." Ranma just nodded, enraptured by her eyes, and slowly they leaned towards one another. Their lips slowly inching together...  
  
"Give her some tongue!"  
  
"WAH!!!" the two screamed and jumped apart. Ranma up at the ceiling where Ryoko was half-way phased through upside down. "Ha ha!!! You two should have seen your faces!"  
  
"Why you!" Ranma growled and leap towards the ceiling to grab her. Ryoko laughed as she phased through and out the window into the yard outside. "I'm gonna get her!" He ran for the back door and raced out into the yard after Ryoko who just glided along laugher her head off.  
  
"Oh my, those two are such good friends." Kasumi smiled sweetly as she went back to the sink.  
  
*****  
  
Tendo Nabiki never went anywhere without two of her most important possessions. One was her camera, which right now contained new pictures of Akane, but with Kuno now over his Akane fixation they were not worth a whole lot. A few boys at school might still buy them, like that little weasel Gosunkugi, or some of the boys on the Kendo team. Akane still had a lot of admirers at Furinken, but most had been afraid to come forward because of Ranma and Kuno. Now both of them were out of the way, so the new annoyances her younger sister's life will be surfacing very soon. All she had to do was be patient. The other thing she never went anywhere without was her cell phone. It was her link to her network of girls who gathered information for her or collected money from people who owed debts from loans. She even took it into the bathroom, which is why she got a special model designed to go into wet environments.  
  
Soaking in a hot bath in the furo in the morning was something Nabiki loved to do. She often did not get to do it but today was different. She had been woken up early by a call from her ladies concerning the Amazons. They left, but probably not for good. The Nekohauten did not have a "For Sale" sign on it or an "Out of Business" sign on it like she thought they would use. Apparently they left without taking anything with them but a small bag of clothes as if they were not going anywhere for very long. This had bothered Nabiki. If Cologne, Shampoo, and Mousse were all leaving and apparently not for long it might mean that they finally tracked down Ranma. It was a guess, but she could not afford to take any chances with this. Kasumi might be with him, and she could be in danger. Akane may not think they would never do anything to her but Nabiki was not so sure herself. So, she asked her ladies to tail them and find out where they go. A hour later the phone rang while she was soaking.  
  
"Mushi mushi." she answered. "You found out where they went?"  
  
She listened for a moment and said, "They bought tickets for Okayama? Two way or one way?"  
  
"Okayama, Okayama, why does that ring a bell for some reason?" she asked herself out loud. "Oh, nothing, just thinking out loud. Thanks for keeping tabs on them, I owe you big time Sakuya." She put the phone down on the rim of the furo and climbed out. For a moment she admired her figure in the full length mirror. She was gorgeous, and she knew it. She rarely used her looks to get ahead but tended to use her other skills to get ahead. Using your looks to get things was something Ranma was good at, and it always made Akane so angry because even through she was pretty Ranma was a lot prettier.  
  
After drying off and dressing in the changing room she went immediately to the living room where Akane was sitting out breakfast. Fortunately she did not do any of the cooking that morning, it was not a school day and Nabiki did not feel like going to eat breakfast today. She had too much to do with all these new developments. Genma came out of the kitchen wearing an apron and Nabiki tried very hard not to laugh her head off. I'm going to make the boy pay for reducing me to, this!, he grumbled inwardly.  
  
"That's a new look for you Mr. Saotome." Nabiki said, her voice quivering a little as she tried not to burst out laughing. The big man just growled, took off the apron and sat down at the table. Later after breakfast, which was a bit dry, Nabiki took Akane up to her room.  
  
"The Amazons left this morning." she told her.  
  
"Uh oh, do you think they found him?" Akane asked.  
  
Nabiki shrugged, "Don't know, but they left early and took a train to Okayama."  
  
"Okayama." Akane said as if she knew something.  
  
"I seem to recall something about Okayama, but I can't quite remember." said Nabiki.  
  
Akane snapped her fingers, "Cousin Tenchi! He lives in Okayama, and Kasumi always loved it when we went to visit him and go into the mountains to his grandfather's shrine."  
  
"You know, knowing Ranma he probably didn't want Kasumi to live on the street and decided to try and find a stable place to stay." Nabiki reasoned. "Assuming she did run off with him instead of just leaving on he own. Its more likely she went with him. Anyway, it could be that they are there."  
  
"But, why didn't Mr. Masaki ever call us to let us know they were there?" asked Akane.  
  
Nabiki shrugged, "Maybe they asked them not to tell us."  
  
Akane suddenly looked at her sister with grave concern. "if the Amazons are headed for Okayama, and that's where Kasumi and Ranma are..."  
  
"Already ahead of you on that one." Nabiki told her. "I don't really know if Cologne or Shampoo would ever really try to hurt her, but I don't want to take that chance."  
  
"What can we do?" Akane asked her.  
  
"Daddy has cousin Tenchi's phone number, we can call them and warn Kasumi about what's going on." said Nabiki. The two sisters ran through the house startling the two men as they played Shoji. Nabiki grabbed the family phone book and flipped through the pages to the right one.  
  
"I hope this is still current." she said as she dialed the number.  
  
At the Masaki residence the phone began to ring. Sasami stood in the kitchen preparing the rice for breakfast when she heard it in the next room. Ryo-Ohki meowed where she was perched on her head. In the living room Kasumi was wiping down the dinner table.  
  
"Kasumi, could you get that I can't get away?" Sasami called from the kitchen.  
  
"Alright." Kasumi called back sweetly.  
  
"Mushi mushi." she greeted after picking up the handset.  
  
"KASUMI!" Nabiki cried, her voice betraying a lot of emotion and some relief.  
  
"Oh my, oh my, Na-Na-Nabiki its you." Kasumi said, unsure of what to do now. It was now obvious that her sister knew exactly where she and Ranma were. She could hear sounds on the other end of the line, her father crying and wailing about his little girl, Genma bellowing questions about Ranma and how he should return and be a man and marry Akane, and Akane asking questions so fast she could hardly understand her.  
  
"Are you ok, how long have you been there?" Nabiki asked her.  
  
"I'm just fine, and I've been here for a while." Kasumi told her. It would do no good to fudge the truth now.  
  
"Is Ranma there with you?" Nabiki asked her.  
  
"Uh, well..."  
  
"Please, tell me if Ranma is there." Nabiki pleaded with her. "Akane's not mad at him, she's sad that he ran off, but we're not mad at him."  
  
"The hell I'm not!" she heard Genma yell at the top of his lungs.  
  
"Yes, Ranma is here, and no he isn't coming back." Kasumi told her. "I, I love him."  
  
Nabiki was silent for a while then she asked, "I figured as much, how does he feel about you?"  
  
"He can't say it yet, but he shows his love for me in his actions." Kasumi said softly. "I can see it in his eyes when he looks at me or when he holds me."  
  
"WHEN HE HOLDS HER! THAT PERVERT NEVER HELD ME!" she heard Akane cry on the other end.  
  
"Uh, things are boiling out of control here so I'll make this quick." said Nabiki nervously. Kasumi could hear very heavy objects being hurled around the house. "The Amazons somehow found out you guys are in Okayama and are on their way."  
  
Kasumi dropped the phone in shock for a moment, picked it up, and said, "Oh my, I'll be sure to tell Ranma as soon as possible." She heard a sound like someone was wrestling with the phone then silence before someone spoke.  
  
"Kasumi, Kasumi, tell him I'm sorry about what I said." said Akane over the phone. "I was angry, I got a problem with anger and I realize that now. I guess it was the reason why we never worked out. I just don't want any bad blood between us. I hope you have better luck with him than I had, and..."  
  
"I love him, and don't worry I'll tell him what you said." Kasumi said softly.  
  
"Th-Thank you Kasumi." Akane said before bursting out into tears.  
  
"Keep on your toes Kasumi, those Amazons can be tricky." Nabiki said when she took the phone back. "Tell Ranma about this as soon as possible."  
  
"I will, but I'm not certain he will be happy." Kasumi said nervously.  
  
"Definitely." Nabiki said in agreement.  
  
"He saw Ryoga yesterday, he didn't see Ranma, but it really rattle him that we were almost found." Kasumi explained.  
  
"He's worried about you." said Nabiki.  
  
"Yes, he is, he told me." said Kasumi. "That's how I know he loves me, and the look in his eyes when he told me showed me he does. We still have so much to work out but I know things will be just find between us."  
  
"I'm glad, listen you be careful." said Nabiki. "We love you and I personally hope it all works out between you and Ranma."  
  
"Thank you, and tell Akane that I'll tell Ranma what she said." Kasumi replied.  
  
"Bye, I'll call again later when things calm down here." said Nabiki before hanging up.  
  
"Oh my." Kasumi sighed before hanging up the phone. She steeled herself for what she had to do and went to the patio door where she could see Ranma doing his morning workout.  
  
Back at the Tendo dojo, Tendo Soun was weeping on the floor and crying out Kasumi's name while Genma was stomping through the house angry. "Well, at least we know she's ok." said Nabiki.  
  
"I never saw it, I never even noticed that she had any feelings for him." Akane said as she sat down at he dinner table.  
  
"I'm surprise too, a little, but in some ways I can't really blame her." Nabiki admitted.  
  
"Why?" Akane asked.  
  
"Are you kidding, you mean you didn't notice?" Nabiki said with surprise. "For one thing he was gorgeous, I noticed that, especially when he took off his shirt..."  
  
"I get the picture already!" Akane shouted blushing furiously. She looked down at the floor. "Anyway, he's with Kasumi now, and she sounds really happy to be with him."  
  
"Hey, you could go for Ryoga." Nabiki suggested.  
  
Akane's eyes went wide, "Nabiki! Ryoga's just a friend, I don't feel that way about him."  
  
"Oh well, he does have that girl who raises those giant pigs." said Nabiki.  
  
"Akari." Akane corrected her.  
  
"Whatever, I'm going to get ready for my date with Kuno baby." Nabiki said as she hurried up the stairs.  
  
"You do that." Akane said softly. She looked out the shogi doors into the yard and envisioned Ranma and his father fighting there around the koi pond. The vision vanished slowly and she turned back around and just looked at the floor.  
  
"What the hell am I doing?" she said out loud and jumped to her feet. "What am I doing feeling all weepy, I deserved to loose him to Kasumi, it was my fault not his." But, but I can learn from this, if anything I learn form this experience so it doesn't happen again., she realized. With a confident smile on her face Akane headed up to her room and immediately began going through her wardrobe. Finding the cutest dress she had she got dressed and ran downstairs.  
  
"Bye bye, be back later!" she shouted quickly to her father and the panda as she ran by. She felt good, she felt better now than she had felt in weeks. Her life was going to change, she had Ranma to thank for that. If anything good came out of their failed engagement it was the fact that she finally realized what she needed to get her life back together. He gave her a fresh start, a new life, and she was not going to waste it. There was someone out there for her, her Mr. Right, and she was going to find him. All thanks to Ranma.  
  
"Where is she going in such a hurry?" Soun said questioningly looking in the direction she just ran. When his gaze went back to the game board he noticed he had a piece missing. "NANI!!! Checkmate already!?"  
  
**********  
  
Chapter 4: And All Hell Breaks Loose!  
  
Days of peaceful living at the Masaki residence is over. The Amazons have come to town. The chaos gets worse when the Perpetually Lost Boy show up again and the high school turns into a war zone when Mousse and Ryoga take on everybody's favorite pig tailed martial artist. What will Ranma's friends say when his dark secret is reveal right before their very eyes? What will happen to Kasumi? And, is that Ryoko chasing Happosai with a murderous expression on her face? 


	4. Side Story The Secrets We Keep

DISCLAIMER: "Ranma 1/2" is a registered trademark and copyright of Viz Communications, Kitty Productions, Shogakugan, Inc., and Rumiko Takahashi. All Rights Reserved. "Tenchi Muyo! Ryo-Ohki" is a registered trademark and copyright of Pioneer, LDC., AIC, Inc., and Kajishima Masaki. All Rights Reserved. All other random Anime characters belong to their own specific trademark and copyright holders whomever they may be.  
  
**************  
  
The Warrior and the Peacemaker: The Secrets We Keep  
  
Written by Barbara Prest Edited by Michael "TheZorch" Haney  
  
**************  
  
This side story takes place between the events in Chapter 3 and 4.  
  
**************  
  
Ranma was annoyed. The strange aura that his teacher was giving off kind of irked him in a way. The aura felt at least half normal but the other half... Ranma hung his head. Mysteries to him usually led to trouble. So he sought to answer them before they became threats to him, He was somewhat like Nabiki that way. 'But...' Ranma thought again, Ms. Kazami hasn't been any type of a threat. Nor did it seem like she would be one.  
  
"Hey Tenchi? What do you think of Ms. Kazami?" Ranma asked the resident expert on the bizarre. (Other than himself) "Well, I haven't seen her much but there is something different about her. Why do you want to know?" Tenchi replied. "The reading I get off her is strange and she seems to like Kei if what I keep seeing is true." Ranma said. "She likes Kei?" Tenchi said with a raised eyebrow. "That should be interesting. A teacher in a relationship with a student."  
  
"Three days and it's till irking me." Ranma said with an annoyed tone. "If it's bothering you that much why don't you talk to Kei about it?" Tenchi replied calmly. "Actually..." Ranma started to say then stopped to think about it. "That could work. But I'd need your help Tenchi."  
  
"Hey, we're friends, that's what friends do." Tenchi said a smile on his face. "Then we'll do it tomorrow. At lunch." Ranma said also smiling. And with that they turned for the night.  
  
Time flies and the day was started every other day since coming to live with Tenchi, With the exception of Ranma, actually stealing a kiss from Kasumi, before getting his bento and heading to school. Then it continues to be normal up until lunch...  
  
"Hey Kei. Can I talk to you for a minute?" Ranma asked. "Ah, sure what can I help you with?" Kei said while turning his attention to Ranma.  
  
"Uh, some private please it's kind of important." Ranma clarified. Kei turn to his friends and they shrugged. "I guess so." Kei said and they crossed the schoolyard to where Tenchi was waiting.  
  
"Well I guess we'll cut to the point." Tenchi started after making sure no one was around. "The reason we called you here is because we want to know what's going on between you and Ms Kazami." Ranma said. Kei gulped, how much could they have found out? Would they be forced out of school because someone found out?  
  
"W- Well, nothing really is going on, she just looks after me sometimes for my uncle." Kei stammered obviously uneasy about the question. "Half truth, please tell us the truth." Ranma said while keeping an eye on Kei's aura to see if he's lying.  
  
"Well I can't tell you here, can we talk about this at Ms Kazami's place I'm sure we can use that as neutral ground." Kei compromised wondering how Ranma knew about the half truth.  
  
"Ok, well be there after school today." Tenchi concluded and with that the bell sounded ending lunch. "Aw man, what am I going to tell Mizuho?" Kei thought.  
  
"What would happen if they found out we're married?" Kei repeated over and over in his mind as the final bell rung. Kei managed to talk to Ms Kazami alone in-between classes and the made some sort of plan to dissuade the two boys. The thought of being found out by the two boys if not the entire class was dropping his mood to the verge of a standstill.  
  
On the other end of the spectrum, Tenchi and Ranma called home and let Kasumi and the others know that they were going to be late. "Hey Kei! You coming or not?" Hyosuke called out as Kei, Ranma, and Tenchi exited the school.  
  
"Hold up Hyosuke" Kei replied as they caught up to him.  
  
"So why are you two going? Your bus stop is that way." Koishi asked.  
  
"Well... Ranma here isn't doing so well in class and Ms Kazami wants to talk to him about it at her place." Tenchi said quickly.  
  
"Yeah, and Kei here is acting as my guide because I heard he lives next to her." Ranma added acting downtrodden.  
  
"And Tenchi is coming for morale support" Kei finished the somewhat thought out lie.  
  
"Aw man... you're so lucky." Hyosuke said "I wish I'd thought of asking her to visit today."  
  
After the incident of the surprise visits on her third day of work. Ms Kazami made it a standing rule; to ask her to visit before you can come to her place. She said it was to keep the surprise visits down and from students finding where she kept her tests. Ichigo said it was like that because Ms Kazami wanted alone time with her live in boyfriend or iinazuke. "I still worry about how close to the truth she gets sometimes." Kei thought.  
  
Soon after that conversation the group parted ways with Tenchi and Ranma at the apartment complex and Kei next door to it."Well, see you later." Ranma said after the group started walking home. They waved the left, five minutes later Kei walked over to them.  
  
"So are we going to get this over with? I'll prove to you that Ms Kazami is only my guardian." Kei said sounding rather confident. The other two boys just smirked, they had expected Kei to try and dissuade them from what they both started to notice from Kei.  
  
"Oh, hello Ranma, Kei said you wished to speak with me." Mizuho said.  
  
"Yes, although you might want to close the windows, so that what we say doesn't get heard by prying ears." Ranma said.  
  
"I figured as much so prepared beforehand." Mizuho said indicating the closed windows.  
  
"Well, I never was the greatest when in comes to talking so I'll just say it." Ranma said, turning his attention to Ms. Kazami.  
  
"How long have you been on earth?" Ranma said. "Uh oh..." Mizuho thought. "What makes you think that I'm an alien?" Mizuho asked.  
  
"Well like Ryoko your aura isn't reading as normal." Ranma confessed, Kei and Ms. Kazami sighed.  
  
"Do you mind if we took this talk to a new location?" Mizuho asked.  
  
"Not at all." Tenchi said and Ranma quickly agreeing.  
  
"Marie?" Mizuho asked and a small doll like item with an inner tube replied with a 'Noh.'  
  
"I would like you to transport everyone in this room to the bridge of the ship, this is priority one." Mizuho said.  
  
With a 'Noh' and a salute, a bright light overtook the rooms occupants and in moments they where on Ms. Kazami's ship.  
  
"So, you found out. Now I'll have to leave Kei." Mizuho said depressed.  
"Its ok anata, wherever you go I will also." Kei said putting her hand on hers.  
  
"Whoh, whoh. Relax. You don't have to leave Kei, heck we have a few secrets of our own." Ranma said quickly trying to diffuse the depressed girl.  
  
"What do you mean?" Kei asked. "Just get hot and cold water and I'll let Ranma explain." Tenchi said.  
  
A physical transport, a promise not to reveal the secrets and a trip to the galley Ranma explains his curse and the situations with his 'fiancées'. Tenchi followed up with the fight with Kagato and the six girls he lives with, an old space pirate, two princess, two space detectives and the greatest scientific mind in the universe. Kei and Mizuho told the boys about the situation of their meeting and marriage, about Mizuho's order to remain low profile on earth and Kei's standstills and actual age.  
  
"Wow, I Knew Jurai was strong but I didn't really know about most of its allies." Tenchi said. "Well the Galaxy Federation should have helped with Kagato." Mizuho said.  
  
"You did say that the main fleet would have taken too long to make a difference." Tenchi said.  
  
"You know Kei, I'd have to admit, and your 'standstills' must suck." Ranma said.  
  
"At least Mizuho is helping me with it." Kei said while blushing.  
  
"Hey Tenchi. These two should know where you live that way they can visit while not hiding their relationship." Ranma said.  
  
"Actually that's a good idea." Tenchi said then wrote down his address of the shrine.  
  
"Thank you. At least allow me to transport you home." Mizuho said. "I guess." Tenchi said.  
  
"Marie? Please transport Tenchi and Ranma to this location. This is now priority one." Mizuho said. And with a Noh, the light appeared around the two boys and in a beam of light they were gone.  
  
Let's see where they ended up shall we? Tenchi came out of the physical transport a bit early and landed next to Ryoko while she was in the onsen. "My my Tenchi. If you wanted to join me all you had to do was ask." Ryoko said seductively and Tenchi passed out. Meanwhile Ranma..."AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!"  
  
Well let's just say that Washu finally got her new guinea pig.  
  
**************  
  
The End  
  
The Warrior and the Peacemaker will continue with chapter 4!!!  
  
Special thanks go out to Barbara Prest for writing this side story. Thanks a lot for all the help. 


	5. Chapter 4

DISCLAIMER: "Ranma 1/2" is a registered trademark and copyright of Viz Communications, Kitty Productions, Shogakugan, Inc., and Rumiko Takahashi. All Rights Reserved. "Tenchi Muyo! Ryo-Ohki" is a registered trademark and copyright of Pioneer, LDC., AIC, Inc., and Kajishima Masaki. All Rights Reserved. "Onegai Teacher" is the registered trademark of Bandai Visual. All Rights Reserved. All other random Anime characters belong to their own specific trademark and copyright holders whomever they may be.  
  
THE WARRIOR AND THE PEACEMAKER  
  
by Michael "TheZorch" Haney  
  
Chapter 4: And All Hell Breaks Loose!  
  
It was a pleasant day in Okayama, the sun was shining, the birds were singing, and a pig tailed martial artist was sitting at the dinner table sipping tea with a haunted look in his eyes. He has seen into the bowls of hell, or Washu's subspace laboratory, whichever comes first. That meniacle laugh was even more grating on the nerves than Kodachi's spin-tingling cackle. He knew she meant no harm, he did come out of the experience without any injuries, but seeing her in that skin tight nurse's outfit had been truly a traumatic experience. It got worse when she tried to get a "sample". On a brighter note, Washu discovered "first hand" that Ranma's name meaning Wild Horse was very appropriate.  
  
Kasumi and Sasami were in the kitchen getting things ready to bring breakfast out to the table. Ryoko was doing what she usually did, just laying around on the couch and watch TV. Mihoshi was sitting next to her looking rather zoned out. There was no sign of Ryu-Ohki and Ranma was a little happy about that. He had finally understood that she was not a cat, but her meows really got to him after a while. Kasumi thought it would be good therapy for him to be around her though.  
  
Ranma heard the door to the bloom closet open and close and a shiver ran down his back. "Happy thoughts, think happy thoughts." he repeated to himself out loud in a whisper. The red headed diminutive scientist quickly took a seat opposite him and poured herself some tea.  
  
"Good morning." she said.  
  
When he did not answer her she looked at him asking, "You're not still upset are you?" He looked at her with a "what are you crazy" expression.  
  
"Yes, I am." he said.  
  
"But it was purely for scientific research." she pouted.  
  
He scowled and asked, "Since when is trying to jerk a guy off when he's tied to a bed considered research?" Tenchi, who was coming down the stairs heard what he had just said. Join the club Ranma., he said to himself.  
  
"So you're saying you wouldn't have enjoyed it?" she replied with a smirk on her face that nearly mirrored the one he usually wore.  
  
Ranma sputtered and almost spit out his tea. "No, I mean yes-I-uh! In case you haven't noticed most us guys don't wanna be molested by a creepy twelve year old girl."  
  
He quickly regretted his words. The old Saotome Foot in Mouth Disease was in full swing, but instead of getting a mallet to the head he got something else. Before his eyes Washu "changed", her diminutive, petite, childlike body filled like as if she were suffering from a Josenkyo curse. In seconds a voluptuous redhead sat across from him. Her tank top was barely enough to keep her attributes contained and looked like it was about to rip. As it was he could easily see her midriff.  
  
"How about if I look like this, Ranma darling?" she asked in a sultry voice.  
  
The pigtailed boy grabbed his nose to quench the geyser of blood that threatened to shoot out. Washu saw the look on his face, was satisfied that she could get him as flustered as she could Tenchi, and reverted back to her regular state. She figured he had enough teasing for one day, even thought it was so much fun. Tenchi had been getting used to it lately taking all the fun out it for her. She could see the look on the young first prince's face and knew she was going to get a little lecture from him later. But, she could not help it, Ranma was such an interesting study with that curse and his martial arts abilities, and it did not hurt that was really cute too.  
  
"Breakfast is ready." Sasami called from the kitchen as she and Kasumi came out with the food.  
  
"Smells great." Ranma commented sniffing the aroma that surrounded the dinner table as the food was laid out.  
  
Everyone went around the table to their seats. Tenchi sat between Ayeka and Ryoko as usual. Kasumi sat next to Ranma, a little closer than usual, but Ranma saw starting not to mind having her so close to him. In fact, he was starting to think about her more and more as each day went by. Am I finally falling in love with her?, he asked himself. Noboyuki sat at one end of the table with Katsuhito at the opposite end. Across the table sat Washu, Mihoshi and Sasami with Ryu-Ohki. The Cabbit was in her child- like form munching on a plate of carrots.  
  
"Sasami, I hope its ok, but we're going to have some dinner guests tonight." Tenchi announced after washing down a mouthful of rice.  
  
"Its no problem, who's coming?" she asked cheerfully.  
  
"Mrs. Kazami and a friend of ours from school named Kei." he replied.  
  
Ryoko's eye did a Spock Maneuver. "You mean that cute home room teacher? The one all the boys at your school are drooling over?"  
  
"How did you-on second thought I won't ask how you know." he started to say but then changed his mind.  
  
"Somebody has to make sure none of those cute schoolgirls and teachers try to steal away 'my' Tenchi." said Ryoko with her most antagonistic smirk. Of course there is only one guess who that smirk was directed at.  
  
"Since when is he 'your' Tenchi, Miss. Ryoko?" Ayeka asked her in a huff.  
  
She turned to Tenchi demanding, "What is this about cute schoolgirls and a cute teacher, Lord Tenchi?"  
  
The young first prince of Jurai sighed and said, "Mrs. Kazami and Kei are married. They gotta keep their marriage a secret because the director of the school asked them to, among other reasons."  
  
"A teacher married to one of her students?" Katsuhito asked doing a Spock Maneuver.  
  
"Kei's got this thing that makes him pass out a lot when he gets nervous and stuff. He looks young but he is eighteen." answered Ranma.  
  
"Mrs. Kazami is from the Galaxy Federation." Tenchi added.  
  
"The Galaxy Federation." everyone around the table repeated in surprise.  
  
"What is a citizen of the Galaxy Federation doing here on Earth?" Washu asked him.  
  
"She originally came as an observer, but some stuff happened and she was forced to go back home. She came back about a year later and resumed her relationship with Kei despite the fact that he was supposed to have forgotten she had been on Earth at all." Tenchi explained.  
  
"Well, the observer part is fine. That's allowed, but erasing the memories of everyone on Earth isn't." said Washu.  
  
"Allowed by who?" Ranma asked.  
  
"The laws of the Galactic Union. It constitutes a direct interference in their society. You see we can live here on this planet as long as we don't directly interfere in its native culture." said Ayeka.  
  
"Mrs. Kazami said a year's worth of memories were erased from everyone on Earth." said Tenchi.  
  
"Kei found out she was an alien by accident. Besides, she's half human, her father was from Earth. He was saved from some doomed mission on space years ago." Ranma added.  
  
"That would make the both of them exempt from blame." said Katsuhito, speaking up for the first time.  
  
"Yes, exactly. Did she say if she was married to your friend before everyone's memories were erased?" Washu asked Tenchi.  
  
"They were, yes." he replied.  
  
"A forced marital separation of two people by a third party for any reason is a serious offense under galactic law." said Mihoshi.  
  
"So, when her people forced her to leave the Earth and wiped their memory they broke some law?" Ranma asked.  
  
Washu nodded. "Even though Kei is a citizen of a Non-Interference World he was still married to Mrs. Kazami and Earth marriages are recognized by galactic law, and since it wasn't a legal divorce then their actions are considered highly illegal."  
  
"It could be interpreted by the law as kidnapping in some respects, she was not allowed to be with her husband and had to sneak back to the Earth in order to be with him again." Ayeka added.  
  
Washu folded her arms across her chest and said, "Those grumpy old guys who run the Galaxy Federation rarely take any of this stuff into consideration. They got into trouble about twelve hundred years ago with the planet Torlon for similar reasons."  
  
"Earth people are considered citizens of the Galactic Union by law, and thus his wife is also now a citizen as well." Ayeka explained.  
  
"So if they come looking for her and try to take her back we can use this to put them on a tight leash." said Washu.  
  
"Oh my, I wouldn't want to separated from Ranma like that." Kasumi commented.  
  
"So I take it they know about us?" Ryoko asked Tenchi.  
  
"Yeah, it was Ranma who suspected something because he can see people's auras and he said hers looked a lot like all of yours." Tenchi replied.  
  
"Well, we'd love to them over." said Sasami.  
  
"We was wondering if it was ok if they came over more often. They don't get a lot of time where they can be together and act like a couple in public since they gotta hide it and all." said Ranma.  
  
"I don't think there would be a problem in that at all." said Noboyuki. He looked up at Yosho and asked, "What do you think dad?"  
  
The old priest smiled and said, "If it isn't a problem for anyone else I don't see a problem with it.  
  
At school Ranma was unusually nervous about something. He saw not sure what it was, but he recognized the feeling. It was the feeling that something was going to happen, and he usually got this feeling when he was still attending Furinken. This feeling peaked only during certain times; 1. some new major bad ass was going to show up and kidnap Akane, 2. the Amazons had something really devious planned and were about to strike, and 3. he had this same feeling just before encountering both Herb and Saffron. Thus, Ranma was obviously on guard that day. It had been entirely too peaceful around the Masaki residence since he and Kasumi moved in. Its been entirely too peaceful, and that usually meant when shit hit the fan it really "hit" the fan.  
  
Unknown to the pigtailed boy, a pair of ancient eyes were watching him. It was a real struggle to do so since this person had to suppress all evidence of her presence so he did not sense them. In order to blend in better with the other students and not stand out Ranma had taken up the practice of actually wearing a school uniform instead of his usual Chinese clothes. So finding Ranma in a group of students wearing just about the same thing was hard, but not too hard for those sharp eyes. The wearer of those eyes would know her son-in-law anywhere.  
  
"So, I finally found you, son-in-law." Cologne said in her hiding place in a tree across from the school yard. She had forbidden Shampoo to follow her on her search for Ranma because the girl did not yet know how mask her presence like she could.  
  
The ancient Amazon took note of several people talking with Ranma, a few boys and three girls. None of the young girls seemed at all interested in Ranma in any romantic way, at least that is what she could tell from their body language. There was one boy who seemed closer to Ranma than the rest, perhaps a new best friend maybe. He had dark, short cropped hair and dark eyes. Cologne shivered a bit when she looked at him for the first time. For an instant she could have sworn she saw three beams of white light emanating from him, but as soon as she saw the vision it was gone.  
  
All that day Ranma could not shake the feeling that he was being followed or watched. That was usually a bad sigh. School ended without any incidents. He and Tenchi said goodbye to their friends Kei, Koishi, Ichigo, Hyosuke, Kaede, and Matagu when they parted for their different bus stops. Of course they knew Kei and Mizuho would be around soon at the Masaki house for dinner that night. It would be the first night in a long time they could be out together and be able to act as a real couple for once.  
  
After getting off the bus at the path that lead to the shrine, Ranma stretched out with his martial artist's senses and waited. There it is again., he said to himself feeling something out there but it was suppressing its presence so well he could barely tell it was there. Soon the two boys reached the Masaki home and were greeted with the pleasant surprise of seeing Mizuho and Kei talking with the others outside.  
  
"Oh my, Ranma, Tenchi, your friend and his wife just arrived a few minutes ago." Kasumi said with a happy smile as they walked up.  
  
"Thank you very much for inviting us." Mizuho said with a bow towards the two boys. They both suddenly blushed furiously and bowed back. Washu looked at the young woman and turned to look at Kasumi. They did not look anything alike, but just now meeting her she realized that they were very much alike. Both were extremely beautiful, both were very polite and soft spoken, and both seemed to radiate a kind of peace that seemed rather infectious. When Mizuho and Kei first drove up Ayeka took one look at the gorgeous teacher and nearly had a fit.  
  
"There should be a law against having teachers, that, that-" she had sputtered before everyone went out onto the back porch to greet them.  
  
"That are drop dead gorgeous." Ryoko had finished for her with a smirk. She was not worried about the teacher at all. It took a few moments for Ayeka's jealous nature to cool down a bit as they walked out to meet the couple.  
  
Sasami and Kasumi ushered everyone inside and brought some snacks to the table. They announced that dinner would not be ready for a while and suggested everyone have fun and get to know one another. Now they were inside sitting around the dinner table enjoying some of Sasami's famous tea.  
  
"So, you're a teacher at Tenchi and Ranma's school." said Noboyuki who eyed the almost unbelievably lovely young woman as if appraising a work of fine art. Of course, that is exactly what Mizuho was even thought she sometimes forgot just how beautiful she really was and how that effected the male students around her as well as any men who met her.  
  
In any other situation she would have to hide the truth of her relationship with Kei due to the danger of the truth being discovered. Here and now that was not an issue for her or Kei at all. "Yes, and they both very good students and have been good friends to my husband." With that said she put her arm around Kei's waist and gave the girls around the table a look that practically screamed, "MINE!"  
  
"I want to ask you a question, didn't the Galaxy Federation know that separating you from Kei the first time a year ago violated Galactic Union laws?" Washu asked, coming straight to the point like she usually did. Ryoko rolled her eyes at he mother, of all the subjects to bring up right now.  
  
"No I didn't know that, I don't know Galactic Union law that well." said Mizuho.  
  
She took on a puzzled look and asked, "I thought this region was neutral space though?"  
  
Washu shook her head. "Nope, this region belong to Jurai and is thus under the influence of the Galactic Union, and all those of Earth are citizens but they aren't scheduled to be approached for a few decades until they mature more as a species."  
  
"So what might happen due to their actions?" Mizuho asked her.  
  
"Well, as I understand it you had to sneak back here to be with Kei again, and if they came after you to separate you two again I thought you'd like to know that the law is on your side." Washu informed her.  
  
"So, they can't force me and Mizuho apart." said Kei, very relieved. It was always one of his greatest fears that her people would come back for her and separate them again.  
  
"Nope, since she married you she is now a citizen of the Galactic Union by law and thus they have no jurisdiction over her. I'm surprised they did not already know this." Washu explained.  
  
"Know this, the Empire of Jurai will step forward and act in your defense. You are a good friend of Lord Tenchi's and we protect out friends." said Ayeka.  
  
Mizuho immediately started crying. Kei sat up with a napkin and wiped the tears from her eyes with a gentle hand. The girls all sighed wishing Tenchi would do that for them once in a while. "Oh thank you, oh thank you so much. I love Kei so very much and I couldn't live being separated from him a second time." Mizuho said after getting a hold of herself again.  
  
"I know the feeling." Ryoko said softly as she looked at Tenchi.  
  
"Here's some more fresh tea-oh my is everything alright?" Kasumi asked as she came out with the tea service and then noticed Mizuho crying.  
  
"Everything is just perfect, thank you." Kei said with a wide smile on his face.  
  
Nabiki received the letter addressed to her at lunch time. She saw the blurring form of Sasuke streak away from her after the letter drifted down into her hands. She folded it open slowly and read the delicately written Kanji inside. Akane leaned in to read it and smiled brightly. "Ooo, he wants to meet you alone." she said. A few moments later she arrived at the roof of the high school. Akane hid in the upper part of the stairwell so she could listen in.  
  
"What did you want to talk to me about, Kuno baby?" Nabiki asked him.  
  
"Tendo Nabiki, as I have wronged your sister due to my illness, so have I wrong you. This wrong I have committed rends at my heart so." he said looking down at his feet in shame.  
  
"What have you ever done to me?" she asked him. Akane wondered the same thing, what had Kuno ever done to Nabiki that was horrible.  
  
"This wrong was ignoring the calling of my heart and allowing the delusions created by my diseased mind to draw me away from the one who was truly in my fondest thoughts and dreams." he replied. In one swift movement Kuno reach back behind himself and produced a bouquet of roses.  
  
"Tendo Nabiki it is you whom I have only ever truly loved since the day we first met in elementary school. The madness that has gripped my mind drove the memory of what we once shared from my mind, but now I remember every moment as clearly as it happened the day before. I beg you receive this token of my appreciation of your beauty and I humbly ask that you consent to be my bride." he said to a very stunned Nabiki. She reached out and took the roses into her arms. She looked at them, looked up at him, and there was silence for a long moment. Akane peeked through the crack in the door frame and could see the two standing there.  
  
To Akane's surprise Nabiki dropped the roses and threw her arms around Kuno's neck crying, "YES!"  
  
"I remember the first time you held me in your arms, the first time we kissed." he whispered in her ear.  
  
"I thought the Kuno I loved was gone forever." Nabiki said with a sob and just held him. Akane decided now was the right time to leave. She wiped a few tears from her eyes and headed down the stairs. She knew Nabiki and Kuno knew each other from a long time ago, but she never suspected that they had once been in love and that Nabiki still had feelings for him. Happy for her sister, Akane went in search of her friends to spend what was left of the lunch break with them.  
  
"Great grand daughter."  
  
Shampoo emerged from the small kitchen attached to their hotel suite in her usual Chinese pant suit and cooking apron. In the past few weeks since Ranma disappeared the young girl had fallen into a kind of depression. She could not believe that the man she loved would run away from her like that. Discovering that Tendo Kasumi was gone as well seemed to make things worse. So far she had been unable to confirm if their disappearances were related in any way.  
  
"I have found son-in-law, but there is an unforeseen complication." Cologne told her.  
  
"What that great grandma?" Shampoo asked.  
  
Cologne took a puff off her pipe and replied, "The eldest Tendo sister did go with him. They are living in a house not far from here in the woods. The land is holy, I can feel a power coming from that place."  
  
"Nice girl Kasumi run away with airen." Shampoo said as she sat down in a chair.  
  
"I sense strange auras from the people son-in-law and Ms. Tendo are living with. My instincts warn me to proceed with great caution." Cologne added. I could have sworn I saw the Light Hawk Wings coming from that boy Masaki Tenchi, but that could not be possible., she through to herself recalling an ancient Amazon legend.  
  
"Shampoo learn that is Shinto shrine in the mountains near here, is that the place?" the young Amazon asked her.  
  
Cologne nodded. "Yes, we have been to other holy places in Japan, but that place was radiating power like I never felt before. It figures son-in-law would choose such a place to live." That one tall woman with the blue spiked hair looked like she might be a martial artist from the way she handled herself., she thought.  
  
"What we do then?" Shampoo asked with a hopeful expression.  
  
Cologne emptied her pipe into a nearly ache tray and replied, "It is about time Ranma knows that we are here. Delaying any action on our part would be dangerous."  
  
"Why is that?"  
  
"Child, I cannot say why, but I sense something is going to happen. Our time is running out."  
  
Everyone said their goodbyes to Kei and Mizuho a few hours after dinner was over. They all had a wonderful time with the young couple over. Mizuho demonstrated that she had an incredibly beautiful singing voice when they got into a karaoke contest. Kasumi got up and sang though she was blushing as red as Ranma-chan's hair. The girls nearly cried when the Tendo girl sang a rendition of "Sakura Sakura". Ranma could not take his eyes off of her as she sang, her voice ringing out in low elegant tones.  
  
The sky was dark now, the pinpoints lights of the stars began to cover the sky from horizon to horizon like a blanket. Ranma loved looking at the stars, he would often lay on the roof of the Tendo home looking at what few stars he could see through the glare of the city lights. Here at the Masaki residence there were few lights and the tapestry of the night sky could be seen in all its majestic glory. His mind reeled at the thought that people lived out there among the stars. There was a vast civilization called the Galactic Union just beyond the planets of their tiny solar system. It made his own existence seem minuscule in comparison.  
  
He was sitting on the tiny pier that stretched out over the lake just looking up at the stars. A footstep drew his attention and he saw Kasumi walking towards him. She hiked up her skirt and sat down next to him, letting her long slender legs dangle over the edge like his. He looked at her, Kasumi's face was silhouetted by the stars. Kami-sama, she's so beautiful, and she loves me., he told himself. Gathering up the courage he did not know he even possessed Ranma reached out and put his arm around her. Kasumi sighed and leaned against him, a happy, contented smile on her face.  
  
"I-I-I think its happening." he said.  
  
"What is that?" she asked softly.  
  
"Kasumi, I-I think I'm starting to f-fall in l-love with you." he told her. Time did not have any meaning in that moment. He did not know when she moved or how their lips had somehow come together but he would not let go of the warm feeling that rushed through him for anything. Without breaking the kiss he drew Kasumi into his arms and held her tight as her own snaked around his waist and did the same. It seemed like an eternity before they came up for air. All they could do for a long time was look into each other's eyes.  
  
I never felt this way with Akane, I can't believe I was ever afraid to feel like this., he told himself. "I'm glad you're with me, Kasumi." he told her.  
  
"I told you back before we left Nerima that I loved you. I'm so glad that you've decided that you love me back." she told him. A tiny tear slowly rolled down her cheek.  
  
"A guy would have to be insane not to fall in love with ya Kasumi." he replied with a smile, not the confident smirk he usually wore, but a genuinely loving smile.  
  
"Are-Are you ready for us to be something more than we are now?" she asked him, a hopeful look crossed her face.  
  
He reached behind her neck and drew her into a kiss. When they parted again he replied, "I'd be honored to call you my iinazuke." It would be until very late at night before the two of them returned to the house. The next morning was not a school day, but when Sasami went around waking everyone up for breakfast she opened the door to Kasumi's room and stopped before saying a word. There, laying on two futons side by side were Ranma and Kasumi. They were fast asleep, yet despite this they were still holding hands. A happy contented smile covered their faces. The little princess smiled at the cute little scene and slowly slid the door closed before heading to Tenchi's room to wake him up.  
  
Ranma wiped sweat from his brow and looked out over the freshed tilled soil he just finished working on. Tenchi just looked on in awe as the pigtailed youth tilled a patch of land in only a few minutes. It would have taken him half the day if not more! He shook himself out of his stupor and went back to work pulling up more carrots from his second of the crop. Ranma soon came over and began helping him. Again, Ranma was amazed at the speed and agility of the young man as he pulled dozens of carrots at a time. In less than half the time it would have taken him to do it, Ranma had a whole field of carrots picked and the land tilled for replanting.  
  
"Amazing." he said in awe. He should be used to the super-human abilities of Saotome Ranma by now, but everyday was a new surprise. For Ranma it was a great workout and training exercise.  
  
"When do we start replanting?" Ranma asked him as he walked over carrying three baskets of carrots. One in each hand and one balanced on his head. These were the baskets Tenchi usually lugged all the way home on his back, and Ranma was carrying them around as if they weighed no more than a feather. Exactly how strong was he?  
  
"We're expecting rain soon. Grandpa told me to wait until afterward to stopped before planting the next crop." Tenchi told him.  
  
"He knows best. For an old priest he's not a bad martial artist either." said Ranma. The two of them started down the road back towards the Masaki home. A few cars passed them by as they walked. When they were about half way there Ranma heard a sound in the distance, and all of his warning instincts kicked in full force.  
  
Ring! Ring! The sound of a bicycle bell rang out behind them. The pigtailed boy leapt into the air and made a flip all without spilling one carrot from the three baskets he carried. When he landed he noticed that the bicycle had passed underneath him a distance and stopped. Tenchi had leapt out of the way further off the road so he would not be run over. The bike had been moving so fast that it left a dust trail in the air behind it.  
  
"Nihao, wo ai ne airen!" came a shout from the dust cloud.  
  
Tenchi watched a very beautiful girl with lavender hair leap out into view and clasp onto Ranma with a Ryoko-style glomp that would have made the ex-space pirate green with envy. It was then that he noticed the girl was wearing a blue Mandarin style dress that ran up so high on her thighs that there was barely a centimeter of cloth keeping her panties hidden.  
  
"Shampoo find you, airen not engaged to Kitchen Destroy now, Ranma take on date yes?" she said in a kind of broken Japanese that completed her ditsy bimbo appearance. Tenchi had to admit this girl was really, really, really cute.  
  
Ranma, however, was doing everything he could to get the amorous girl off of him. "Shampoo, oh come on, let go!"  
  
"Why airen leave Shampoo, she so sad when leave. Now Shampoo find you, Shampoo love you-ack!" the girl cooed then yelp as Ranma drew in his breath, threw up his arms, and slid out of her grasp in one swift movement. Of course, this left her without anything holding her up so she feel over. The girl caught herself before she hit face first. The effort made her ample attributes jiggle excessively forcing Tenchi to grab his nose to prevent a lethal hemorrhage.  
  
"I should have known, I knew someone was watching me yesterday. If you're here than that means so is the old ghoul." said Ranma in a very angry voice. Right on cue something landed on his back and he could feel a pair of tiny hands caressing his muscular shoulders.  
  
Tenchi was not sure what the hell it was. It came out of nowhere using a walking stick like a pogo stick. One minutes it was coming towards them, and next it was latched onto Ranma and feeling him up. The pigtailed boy roared and turned on the tiny creature that accosted him, but it was far to swift form him. The little creature dodged out of the way and bopped Ranma over the head with the knobbed end of its walking stick.  
  
"Nice to see you're still quite spree son-in-law." the little creature said in a creaky old voice that reminded Tenchi of his great aunt who owned the hot spring Ryoko's summoned oni trashed a few years ago.  
  
"What the hell do you want!?" Ranma demanded.  
  
"You know exactly what I want." she replied. Shampoo, the bubbly Chinese girl was hugging from behind and rubbing her cheek against him like a cat. Affectionate girl, she must have been taking lessons from Ryoko., Tenchi thought to himself.  
  
"ARRGGHHH!! I AIN'T MARRYING SHAMPOO, YOU OLD GHOUL!" Ranma roared at the top of his lungs. He moved on the impossibly tiny old woman throwing Shampoo off. Tenchi watched the two dance around one another in one of the most intense display of martial arts he had ever seen in both movies and real life. Ranma and the tiny old woman were moving so fast they were actually blurring and at time even seemed to disappear and reappear somewhere else. The only evidence that they we not teleporting was the dust trail they left as they moved. The fight ended with the two exchanging a series of inhumanly fast punches and walking stick thrusts before they finally landed a short distance from one another in ready fighting stances.  
  
"Holy shit." was all Tenchi could say after witnessing that display. No wonder Ryoko didn't stand a chance against him., he realized.  
  
"Know this son-in-law, I've found you and I don't intend to let you escape again. We'll leave for now but mark my words you 'will' marry my Shampoo one way or another. It is going to happen, and the sooner you understand that the better." after that was said the old woman bounded away on her walking stick with the young girl Shampoo riding on her bike following her. She picked up speed at a rate that was inhuman and both were soon gone out of sight.  
  
"Shit. This is all I need right now." Ranma growled as he relaxed his stance.  
  
"Uh, what the hell was that just now?" Tenchi asked him.  
  
"Remember I told you about the Chinese Amazon trying to force me to marry her great grand daughter because of a stupid law of theirs?" Ranma asked him. Tenchi nodded, he did remember that story.  
  
"You just met them."  
  
"Oh my, what happened?"  
  
Kasumi and the rest of the house guests came running out when Ranma and Tenchi arrived late at the house. They all took one look at Ranma and knew something was up. Washu called up her terminal and started analyzing the young martial artist. He had a faint blue aura surrounding his body at the moment and a look on his face that could have killed Kagato on sight.  
  
"Shampoo and Cologne happened." Ranma told her.  
  
"Those Chinese Amazons you told us about, they're here in Okayama?" Ryoko asked him. Ranma nodded, a brief look of feral rage passed over his face before it turned to normal.  
  
"Ranma wasn't kidding when he said the old woman was a good fighter. They starting fighting each other, it was like a scene out of 'Enter the Dragon' on fast forward." Tenchi told the others.  
  
Ranma punched one of the huge white boulders that sat next to the back porch instantly cracking it in two. "I can't believe they were able to find us this soon! Dammit! We left Nerima to get away from this shit!" Kasumi came up behind him and wrapped her arms around him gently. The pigtailed martial artist visibly calmed down in her embrace.  
  
"Nabiki did warn us that Cologne and Shampoo were looking for us out this way." Kasumi told him in a whisper.  
  
"I know, but I was hoping that if we kept a low profile she would miss us and keep on going to the next prefecture." he said in a much calmer voice now. He reached back and drew her into a kiss. With that the last of his rage escaped him and his taught muscles relaxed.  
  
"How distressing, they really don't need this getting in the way now that they've come to far together." said Ayeka with a sad expression as she watched the two lovers hold each other.  
  
"We gotta help'em." Ryoko said to her quietly.  
  
Washu sidled up to them and said, "I'll go talk to grandpa. I recall he seemed to recognized them when Ranma told us about these Amazons back when he and Kasumi first came here." That had gotten her attention from the start. She knew the old man had be hiding something.  
  
"That's a good idea, Miss-uh-hehehe-uh-Little Washu." Ayeka began, then changed what she was saying when she saw the dangerous glint in the diminutive scientist's eye. Later that day after lunch Washu made her way up the stairs to the shrine. The old priest was standing on the steps as if he had been waiting for her. He lead her into his office and offered her some tea.  
  
"I take it you know why I'm here." she said to him.  
  
Katsuhito nodded. "I felt a presence nearby I hadn't felt in a very long time. Yes, I know why you are here."  
  
"What do you know about these Amazons?" Washu asked before sipping her tea.  
  
The old priest looked out the window at the trees beyond as if he were looking back past decades and centuries of time. In a way he was, he was looking into the past, the past of his memories.  
  
"It was little over two hundred fifty years ago that I saw traveling through China looking for rare ingredients to a medicine that would cure a local village near the shrine that had been stricken by a mysterious plague." he told her.  
  
"I entered the Bayakawa mountains in Quing Hai province. The same region whee the accursed springs of Josenkyo are located. That is when I encountered the Joketsuzoku or Chinese Amazons. One of the young warriors challenged me near their boarders. I had no desire to harm her but I also was not going to allow her to imped my quest to save lives. I accepted her challenge and fought her. It was an easy victory, the girl was young and very beautiful but also a good fighter, but not good enough. I carried her unconscious body into her village of Nyanchiczu and was confronted by one of their elders named Lotion. She told me I was now the girl's husband. Her name was Cologne, the same Cologne that no doubt Ranma has encountered on many occasions."  
  
Washu looked at him with a stunned expression. He certainly did have a lot he was not telling. "What happened next?" she asked.  
  
Katsuhito continued his tale. "I explained the nature of my quest and the elders deemed that Cologne must journey with me. She traveled with me for many months as my quest for the rare herbs took us deep into the mountains. As the days and weeks passed we became close. One night under the stars we made love."  
  
"Yosho, you sly old horn dog you." Washu teased with a wicked grin.  
  
"It was a few weeks later that we encountered the people know as Musk. Race of people who took brides that were animals they defeated in battle transformed into human form by the magic of Josenkyo. By doing this, each successive generation attained the attributes and power of the animals themselves making the Musk warriors stronger. The herb that I needed to finish the medicine was deep in their territory and the Musk were not very pleased about the idea of strangers wandering their territory. Growing desperate, I decided to risk being caught and we traveled deep into the lands of the Musk until we found what I was looking for. On our way out that was when we encountered the Musk King Napora."  
  
Washu was a bit shocked about the mating practices of the Musk, but she did not interrupt the old man as he continued his tale.  
  
"The battle was very great. The Musk King challenge me and had his young son Herb stand and watch as she battled one another. He was a warrior with no equal on Earth save that of myself. I learned to respect the power of the Musk warriors that day. Cologned tried to come to my aid during the battle but Napora's lieutenants bared her way and she began to fight them. In the heat of battle Napora unleashed a powerful ki blast that took off the top of the mountain we were on. When I woke I found that I had been thrown clear of the blast by nearly a mile. How I survived I do not know. I never saw Cologne again since that day. I never knew if she survived or died in that blast. I guess now I have my answer."  
  
"So you and her were once husband and wife. Which means this Shampoo could be-" she began.  
  
"My great grand daughter." he finished for her.  
  
"Geeze, this 'is' a small planet isn't it Yosho." she laughed.  
  
The old priest sighed and stood up. He walked over to his closet and withdrew a bokuto and hid it in his robes. "Miss. Washu, could you go back to the house. I have to go out. There is an old friend I need to speak to."  
  
"Be careful Yosho, I understand she's gotten really good in her old age." Washu warned him. The old man looked back at her and smirked.  
  
"So have I, Miss. Washu."  
  
Cologne sat at the small desk in the hotel suite she shared with Shampoo and looked over the things she brought with her from Nerima. One of the things about Ranma she noticed was his level agitation. He got very upset with her, a great deal more than she expected. It was his protective nature. He was worried for Kasumi. This certainly complicated things but at least he knew they were in town and were keeping an eye on him. Ranma's chances of getting away from her and Shampoo again were very slim now.  
  
The things she was examining were some of the unique Amazon treasures she carried with her from China. These were a few of the artifacts that Happosai had failed to steal, and a few more she was able to get back from the thieving lecher over the past year. One of the items was the Nanban mirror, but it had been broken so badly its magic was now gone. There was the reversal jewel she used on Shampoo in order to trick Ranma into admitting he loved her. A shaker of passion spice, she had not used that on him yet because it was so powerful. One mistake with its use and anything could happen. There was a jewel that had the power to lock a cursed individual into their cursed forms for forty eight hours, that one had possibilities. There was the Comb of Suggestion, a hairpiece for girls made from jade with a Mother of Pearl handle, that might be useful one day. She had one of those Bow and Arrows of Love that the Ryoga boy tried to use on Tendo Akane but hit Ranma with it instead. That had been messy, but it was certainly funny to watch from a distance. The final item was another roll of the Red Thread of Fate that Shampoo had tried to use before on Ranma before. Cologne did not like having to resort to these items to finally land Ranma for her great grand daughter, but they had no other options. Attacking Kasumi would prove to be disastrous. Cologne knew first hand how Ranma was when someone he loved was in mortal danger. The look the boy directed at Herb after he nearly threw Akane out the door could have killed the Musk Prince if looks were deadly.  
  
She looked up from the desk and peered out into the night through their window. She could have sworn she felt something out there. It was the impression of a presence she had not felt in an age. It popped up again, this time closer. The old Amazon Matriarch narrowed her eyes and hopped up on her walking stick.  
  
"Shampoo, I'm going out, don't wait up for me." she called as she hurled herself out the window.  
  
"Okay." the young Amazon said without taking her eyes off the TV which was playing "Excel Saga". That twisted Anime show is going to warp her mind., Cologne thought as she bounded into the darkness.  
  
She traveled a great distance before finally stopping on the roof of a building half-way across town. She heard no sound but knew someone was behind her. Cologne whirled around with her walking stick. A wooden clank rang out as walking stick hit bokuto. The fight was on, both combatants refused to give up ground to one another, but it was becoming obvious to Cologne that he fighter with the wooden sword was far superior to her. In fact, she would not be surprised if he or she was holding back deliberately. The battle ended on a rooftop cross from the hotel she and Shampoo were staying at. Her mysterious attacker managed to knock her walking stick out of her grasp, toss it into the air with his bokuto and catch it in his other free hand. Cologne finally was able to get a good look at the one she had been fighting. He was an older Japanese gentleman who wore the robes of a Shinto priest. Her senses told her he was no ordinary priest though. She recognized that strange energy pattern anywhere. It was the same energy she felt from the lands where the Masaki home resides.  
  
"Its been a long time." the old priest said.  
  
Cologne's eyes went wide. His voice was much older and his appearance has changed, but she could never mistake those eyes.  
  
"Yosho?"  
  
The old man nodded and lowered his bokuto and the stick he took from her. "It is I."  
  
"I though you dead all of these years. How did you survive that blast?" she asked him.  
  
He looked away and said, "I was on a holy quest. The Kami were with me that day, I guess."  
  
"I've missed you these past few hundred years. I am surprised you are still alive after so long." said Cologne. Her thoughts drifted to that night in their hilltop camp where they made love. She remembered how strong yet gentle his hands were, how soft his lips. She had other men since but none had ever measured up to her Yosho.  
  
"Long lifespans run in my family." he told her simply.  
  
"You gave me a daughter. That night in our camp under the stars, remember. Her name was Satin. She was beautiful. She had two daughters, Lace and Sapphire," she told him. The old priest looked at her with an expression of sadness and regret. "Lace died when a sickness ran through our village, but Sapphire lived long enough to bare a child. She died while in labor. I've raised her since the day she was born as my down child though I acknowledge her as my great grand daughter."  
  
"Her name is Shampoo." he said.  
  
"Yes." she replied softly and looked towards the open window of the hotel room she shared with the younger girl.  
  
"How did you know?" she asked him.  
  
"Ranma is staying at the home of my son-in-law and grandson." Yosho explained to her.  
  
Cologne did a Spock Maneuver with her eye brow. So, that shrine I feel so much power coming from is yours, it shouldn't have been such a surprise., she thought. "So airen, you came to speak on his behalf I see."  
  
He shook his head. "He doesn't know I'm here. I am not your airen any longer. That was a long time ago."  
  
"True, we are in our twilight years. Love is for the young." she replied, her voice a little disappointed.  
  
"I came to warn you. I know the ways of the Joketsuzoku, I know what methods you use to get what you want. Do not use them on my grandson's land." he told her, his voice even, his expression showing no anger.  
  
"If you know our laws then you know that I cannot allow Ranma to flagrantly violate our sacred codes." she replied in a similar tone.  
  
"I would never have imagined that I would hear a threat from you Yosho." she added narrowing her eyes at him.  
  
"Its not a threat, I'm telling you this for your own good. You know not what you may be getting into if you anger my grandson's house guests." he replied.  
  
She pondered this for a moment. She had gotten very mixed readings from the girls who lived at the Masaki home, and from Tenchi himself. The girl with cyan spiked hair seemed to have some skill. It was the younger girl with sky blue hair who strangely enough seemed to radiation the most power.  
  
"I doubt they would pose a threat to three thousand years of Amazon tradition." she said to him.  
  
Yosho closed his eyes and said, "It would not matter. As I said you have no idea what you are up against."  
  
"Who is the cyan haired one with the punk rocker hairdo?" Cologne asked.  
  
"Remember the tale I told you one night of the demoness entombed near my shrine?" he asked. Cologne nodded. "That is her. She was freed by my grandson and now she had pledged herself to him."  
  
An oni!? That would certainly explain the power she felt from that one, but what of the others. "What of the other girl, the one with dark purple hair?"  
  
"You have been watching our house haven't you?" he asked. Cologne nodded. Yosho sighed and answered her. "She is my half-sister, Ayeka. She is not to be underestimated, and she is devoted to my grandson."  
  
"I see, and the blond girl?" The purple haired girl looked rather young to Yosho's half-sister. She decided to do some investigating into that one.  
  
"A friend from far away who lives with us." he told her.  
  
"What of the girl with fiery red hair?" Cologne asked him.  
  
Yosho looked at with a smiled and said, "That one you do not want to tangle with. It would be best to stay far clear of her."  
  
Hmmm., she thought to herself. "What of the beautiful child with sky blue hair worn in flaring pony tails?" she asked.  
  
"She is my other half-sister. There is a power that sleeps within her that if awakened not even the entire Joketsuzoku could stand against it." he told her. Cologne thought about all of this for a moment.  
  
"Interesting house guests your grandson has." she said with a bit of a smile.  
  
"Indeed. And they have all pledged to protect Ranma and Kasumi as long as they live under our roof." Yosho told her.  
  
"What of your grandson?" Cologne asked him quickly.  
  
Yosho's expression turned dark and he said simply, "He is my heir, to him I have passed down all that I know. Know that greater foes than yourself have fallen before him. He protects the girls who live under his roof and considers Ranma a close friend, and Kasumi is his cousin."  
  
The eldest Tendo girl is related to him, this makes things even more complicated by far., she realized quickly. She had not counted on that connection. Cologne had certainly felt something strange around Tenchi's so called family, but she still did not know all that much. What Yosho gave her was pretty vague.  
  
"Two things can come of this," Yosho told her as he turned to leave. "One, you can stop perusing Ranma and become friends with my family, or two, you can continue as you are and make an enemy of people who could crush with world like a walnut. I remember and cherish the memory of our short-lived love. It would pain me for us to meet in battle as enemies, but to protect my family and our friends and I will do so."  
  
A tear streaked down Cologne's cheek as she watched him go bounding from rooftop to rooftop. She desired nothing more than to be in those arms again, but it had been so long ago and things had changed so much. She turned back towards their hotel and looked at Shampoo through the window.  
  
"One last time, we will try one last time, then no more. This is becoming far too dangerous." she said thinking out loud before bounding towards the hotel window.  
  
Ranma and Kasumi woke up about the same time that morning. Again they slept in the same room but did not sleep together. They put their futons side by side and held hands all night like the night before. Ranma felt comforted to have next to him though she was not right up against him. A part of him wanted to be that way, but they were trying to wait. Their feelings for one another were growing stronger and stronger by leaps and bounds everyday. It was painful having to leave her behind as he left with Tenchi for the bus stop.  
  
If there was one thing that Magumo Hyosuke and Saotome Ranma had in common it was the fact that their favorite time of the school day was lunch time. As was the tradition of their homeroom they gathered out near the field with their bento box lunches and chatted the hour away.  
  
"Hey, Yamada-sensei is almost ready to test his latest flier." Koishi announced.  
  
"Cool. Maybe he'll win another gold metal this year at the Tokyo competition like last year." said Hyosuke cheerfully.  
  
Ranma looked up from his lunch. It was one of Kasumi's culinary masterpieces made with love by her own hands. This of course meant it was absolutely delicious. "So, that's what he's been tinkering with in that old shed behind the school."  
  
"Yeah, the director lets him use the building because its good publicity for the school, and since he's the shop teacher we get to help him out on his projects." Kei explained. He remembered the day they all pitched in to help assemble the frame of the flier he won last year's competition with. Hyosuke used the torch while Yamada-sensei and the others made sure the joints were lined up right.  
  
"You should take up shop, its really fun." Hyosuke said encouraging Ranma.  
  
"I might do that." he said. It did sound fun, and he liked working with his hands. Maybe it would give him something else to think about besides his Amazon problems.  
  
"You seem, uh, moody today Ranma. Anything wrong?" Kaede asked him with a look of concern on her face. Ranma had looked as if he had been brooding over something all that day. He noticed a few of his new friends looking at him with concern during class.  
  
He simply replied saying, "It ain't nothing ya can help me with. Don't worry too much about it, its ok really." He did not sound that convincing to any of them.  
  
"Your one of us man, if you gotta problem its out problem too." Hyosuke said puffing out his chest proudly.  
  
Ranma looked at him with a smirk and said, "You don't even wanna think about this particular problem."  
  
"Maybe he's having girl troubles." said Ichigo, who spoke up for the first time that day. It made Ranma's air stand up on end. What is she, psychic?, he asked himself.  
  
"It ain't that, me and Kasumi are doing great." he told them. Tenchi, who was sitting with them, nodded in agreement.  
  
"Then what is it?" Koishi asked him.  
  
"Well, its kinda com-" he started to reply when his warning instincts shot up to Defcon 5.  
  
"SAOTOME PREPARE TO DIE!!!!"  
  
"Hey, its that guy from before. The one with the umbrella." said Hyosuke as he was the same boy from before hurling through the air towards their friend. The kids scattered, holding their box lunches and turned around into time to see Ranma dodge out of the way of what looked like a blow meant to actually kill. Little did they know that is what Ryoga had intended to do.  
  
"I'LL MAKE YOU PAY FOR MAKING AKANE MISERABLE!" the Lost Boy screamed. He whipped out his umbrella, flipped it open, and threw it like a top towards Ranma's head. The pigtailed boy just tucked and rolled under the deadly ki enhanced blade edge of the thing and came up delivering a punch to Ryoga's chest. The blow lifted the Lost Boy off the ground but did not take him out of the fight. He was far too tough to be taken down with one hit, and Ranma liked it that way.  
  
The umbrella came back around like a boomerang towards the two fighters but missed them by a wide mark. It soon lost its steam, folded up, and landed on its side near the kids from Ranma's homeroom. Hyosuke went to pick it up and discovered something very astonishing. The umbrella was really heavy, as in it weighed a ton. He struggled just to get it to stand up on end, lost his grip on it, and it landed with a dull thud as it hit the ground.  
  
"What the hell is that thing made of?" he asked himself out loud as Matagu tried lifting it without success.  
  
"Hey, if that kid can carry this thing one handed-" Matagu started to say when Hyosuke whipped around and saw the boy with the yellow bandanna poke his finger into the ground. The Earth at Ranma's feet exploded shooting soil and rock into the air. He leapt and did a back flip at a height that was inhuman. Despite the height he landed on his feet in a one touch landing and feel into a fighting stand in one motion.  
  
'Wow." Hyosuke breathed in awe.  
  
"What the hell are ya do'n P-Chan, you coulda hurt my friends here!" Ranma yelled at the Lost Boy pointing to kids watching the fight.  
  
"SHUT UP RANMA, I'M GONNA FINALLY MAKE YOU PAY FOR EVERYTHING YOU'VE DONE TO AKANE!" Ryoga cried as he pull a handful of bandannas off his head and began to twirl them.  
  
Oh man, he's really pissed off, I gotta end this fast or somebody's gonna get hurt., Ranma realized. The ki bladed bandannas flew at him quickly. Ranma heard Koishi let out a shriek in surprise when one of the yellow projectiles sliced a small tree in half.  
  
"Precise ki control. They are not normal martial artists." Ichigo said calmly.  
  
"This looks like a fight out of a Dragonball GT or a manga in Shonen Sunday." said Kei. He winced when Ranma took a punch to the chin that threw him into the air. The other boy they remembered who was named Ryoga went after him doing that thing with his finger the made the ground explode again.  
  
"Moko Takabisha!!!" A cone of bright blue light shot out of the dust from Ryoga's last Bakusai Tenketsu. It hit him dead on and threw the Lost Boy back several feet. Ranma came flying out of the cloud, his hands trailing glowing blue particles, the remnants of the ki blast he just shot off.  
  
"Ryoga you really are stupid! I don't want Akane. She dumped me, so if you want her you can have her!" Ranma shouted at the boy as he climbed to his feet.  
  
"Good, but before that I'll kill you first!" Ryoga shouted, raised his hands and formed a ball of purple energy between them.  
  
"SHI SHI HOKADON!"  
  
The ki blast tore into the ground where Ranma had been standing a split second before. He flew into a forward flip that turned into a flying kick. Ryoga was waiting for it and locked with his forearm. The battle got close in again as the two boys started exchanging blows that would have killed a normal man a long time ago.  
  
"Kachuu Tenshin Amaguriken!" Ranma's arms blurred and Ryoga's body jostled and bounced as he was struck by a hundred full-force punch in less than a second. To the kids watching it looked like the scene from the American movie "The Matrix" when the Smith program did rapid punches into Neo's chest in the subway station. The only thing was, this was for real.  
  
"This is intense!" Hyosuke shouted with glee, happy to see his friend winning.  
  
"Looks pretty brutal to me." said Kaede.  
  
Ryoga staggered back from the onslaught he just got from Ranma and looked like he was about to fall over. Ranma wanted to end this here and now and decided to give the Lost Boy a blow that would knock him out for a while. He did not get the chance, his arm that was cocked back to punch was caught by a chain whip that came out of nowhere.  
  
"Oh great, Mousse is here too." Ranma said out loud as the myopic martial artist leapt into view.  
  
"For breaking my Shampoo's heart, I'm going to make you suffer Ranma." the duck-boy shouted pointing his finger at the soccer goal net.  
  
"Put your glasses on dork, I'm over here." Ranma said. Mousse put them on, looked at Ranma and then at the net. He grimaced in embarrassment and then charged.  
  
"Fist of the White Swan!" He should really come up with new attacks., Ranma thought as he dodged the attack with ease. As he leapt to the side he snap kicked Mousse in the chest making him loose his grip on the training potty he held in his hands.  
  
"I-I'm n-not through with you yet, S-S-Saotome." Ryoga slurred as he finally made his way over to where Ranma was fighting with Mousse. Ryoga noticed the outdoor water fountains and a bucket used for wetting down the sidewalk to keep down dust. He grabbed it, filled it quickly being careful not to splash himself, and hurried over to where Ranma struggled to get free of Mousse's chains. It did not take Ranma long to break the chain holding his arm, but it was enough time for Ryoga to reach him.  
  
SPLASH!  
  
Ranma felt the change instantly and felt like crawling under a rock. He looked at his friends who were watching the fight look on with wide eyed expressions. All except for Tenchi who had seen his transformation before. A rage built up in Ranma at that moment, a rage like she had never felt before. The two boys came rushing at her, Ryoga with his retrieved umbrella and Mousse with a tanto he drew from his robes. Ranma did not even attack, she dodged and weaved around their attacks. Ranma quelled his rage and reached into her center to find the Soul of Ice. Quickly she drew the two unsuspecting fools deeper and deeper into the spiral. When she finally reached the center the two boys fighting her suddenly realized too late they were doomed. Ranma's hand shot up into their hot ki...  
  
"Hiryu Shoten Ha!!!"  
  
Koishi and Kaede screamed as a howling whirl wind sprung to life tossing the two boys into the air. The tornado roared on for several minutes and finally died down. Where it had originated stood a slightly stunned Ranma in the middle of a crater torn into the ground. A few minutes later Mousse and Ryoga came down hard and did not get back up. Several minutes later they were all around Ranma helping her out of the hole her attack created and carried her to a part of the school yard that did not look like World War II had been reenacted there. Ranma opened her eyes to discover all of her friends looking at her with puzzled expressions.  
  
Great, either they think I'm a freak now, or the girls will think I'm some pervert., he told himself. "Ranma? Is that you?" Kaede asked her as she tried hard to comprehend how her friend had become this well endowed, redhead.  
  
"Yeah, its me. Sorry about this." she said in a tired voice.  
  
Hyosuke had a hard time keeping his eyes off her chest. She was literally almost bursting out at the seams. A few seconds of watching later he had to grab his nose. Koishi bopped him over the head and pushed the blond boy out of the way.  
  
"Hentai! Quit ogling her!" she shouted at him.  
  
"You're a cross dresser." Matagu said as if realizing the obvious.  
  
"IT AIN'T CROSS DRESSING!" Ranma sat up and shouted at him.  
  
Ranma felt a small hand prod her breast, then felt a light squeeze that made her feel a little uncomfortable. "Its definitely real. So she is a cross dresser." Ichigo told them.  
  
"No I'm not, its a curse, I change into a girl when I'm splashed with cold water!" Ranma shouted at her.  
  
"Oh tell us another one Saotome, you really are a hentai, dressing as a guy so you can watch us boys get undressed!" Hyosuke yelled at her pointing an accusing finger at her face. Well, this certainly is new, its usually the girls accusing me of that., Ranma thought.  
  
"Guys, she's telling the truth. Warm water turns her back to normal." Tenchi explained to them.  
  
"Its true." Kei nodded.  
  
"You knew about this?" Koishi looked at her friend and one time love interest in surprise.  
  
"I found out by accident and promised to keep it a secret." Kei told her. It was a little white lie but it was close enough to the truth.  
  
"Lets figure this out somewhere else before the director and the teachers come out here to find out what all the racket was about." Kaede warned them all. The group relocated to one of the club rooms. Kei arrived with a kettle of steaming hot water from the cafeteria and everyone watched Ranma's transformation back into a boy.  
  
"Wow." Hyosuke whispered as he saw the transformation happen almost instantly. Ichigo patted down Ranma's chest and looked up at her friends.  
  
"She's a he." she said with a puzzled expression.  
  
"In China there's this place called Josenkyo, its an old training ground for martial artists made of all these springs with bamboo monkey pools stick out of them," Ranma began to explain. "But its a dangerous place. Each spring has its own tragic curse and if anyone falls into one they'll turn into whatever drowned there."  
  
"Which pool did you fall into?" Matagu asked him.  
  
"Duh! The Spring of Drowned Girl." Ranma told him.  
  
Hyosuke sidled up to him and whispered into his ear. "Hey, you think maybe that redheaded babe might wanna go out sometime?" Ranma bopped him one on the head, but nowhere near as hard as he would have hit Ryoga or the old freak.  
  
"My body changes, not my mind!" he groused.  
  
"So when you're a guy you like girls, and when your a girl you still like girls." said Koishi as she began to understand. Ranma nodded.  
  
"So he's hentai." Ichigo said nonchalantly.  
  
"I AM NOT!" he roared at her, but the little girl did not flinch.  
  
Ranma got up and headed for the door. Everyone looked at him with surprise, Koishi was the first to speak up. "Ranma, where are you going?"  
  
"Its obvious, every time somebody finds out about my curse they either think I'm a freak or hentai or whatever. I know you guys don't wanna hang with me anymore." he reached for the doorknob and stopped when he felt a pair of tiny, soft hands touch his.  
  
"We don't think that about you." Ichigo said looking up at him.  
  
"If you wanted to peek at us girls you could have done it a long time ago, but we've never seen that redhead girl around school before so we know you never did that anything like that." said Kaede.  
  
"So ya gotta curse, a weird one, but hey at least ya turn into a babe instead of like, oh I don't know, a pig." Hyosuke said with an encouraging smile.  
  
"Actually, that's what Ryoga turns into." Ranma told them as he let go of the doorknob.  
  
"You're kidding." Hyosuke looked him and when he didn't see or hear him say otherwise the blond doubled over with laughter.  
  
"The one with the chains turns into a duck." Ranma added laughing a little bit as he spoke.  
  
"You're our friend Ranma, and real friends don't turn someone away because they're different or they have a problem they can't control." Koishi told him gently. Kei suddenly sneezed violently but nobody noticed.  
  
"Yeah, you're one of us." Hyosuke said and slapped Ranma on the back.  
  
"Besides, all that Kung Fu stuff you did out there was awesome man!" the blond boy shouted excitedly.  
  
"Tenth or twelfth level don or better." Ichigo guessed.  
  
"Oh hell, what he did out there is off the standard scale man." Hyosuke said turning towards the little girl.  
  
"Ki manipulation at a level only the greatest masters who train all their lives could achieve, and he reached that point at sixteen instead of sixty." Ichigo added.  
  
"Uh, guys, I think I heard the bell." Koishi warned them. The kids hurried out of the club room and back to their homeroom. They passed the entrance where the school director looked out at the devastated school yard in shock. They did not linger long enough to draw his attention and arrived at the classroom just before Mizuho-sensei arrived from the teacher's break room.  
  
Ranma collapsed on the couch at the Masaki home and felt like falling asleep right there. Kasumi came out, took one look at him and guessed what must have happened. She did not live with him for a year and half without picking up on all the signs. He had been in a fight recently, and from the looks of it that fight had been a doozie. She sat down next to him and rubbed his leg gently. Ranma started for a second, saw it was Kasumi and relaxed, enjoying her loving touch.  
  
"Bad day?" she asked.  
  
"Can you tell." he said tiredly.  
  
"Was it Ryoga or Mousse today?" Kasumi asked him, her other hand reached up and started playing the short hairs on the back of his neck. The touch sent shivers down his spin. Man, why do I suddenly have the urge to rip her cloths off the throw her to the ground?, he asked himself.  
  
"Both." he replied simply.  
  
"Oh my." she said in surprise.  
  
He turned towards her and kissed her softly. "This has got to end, one way or another its gotta stop. The Amazons, Ryoga, and Mousse. We can't live like this." he said when they parted.  
  
"Ranma, don't give up hope. I'm sure everything will turn out for the best." Kasumi said to him gently as she leaned her head on his shoulder.  
  
He kissed her again and said, "Yeah, I guess it can't any worse than this."  
  
Suddenly there was a huge explosion outside that shocked everyone. They all ran to the window and looked outside to see a naked Ryoko flying through the air chasing some kind of tiny creature running at incredible speed across the yard. She was screaming out in rage and throwing energy blasts at the thing but they did not seem to make any difference.  
  
The thing reached the house, plowed through the patio door glass and attached itself to Mihoshi's generous bosom. "Sweeto!" the thing cried.  
  
"AAAHHHH!!! Get it off, get it off!!!" she screamed batting at the thing uselessly with her fists.  
  
"I was wrong, it can get worse." Ranma said and Kasumi just sighed as she hugged him tighter. The scene soon turned into a race as an enraged Ryoko, Ayeka, and Mihoshi began chasing a laughing Happosai around the living room. Ranma had enough and quashed the little freak with a jump kick. He lifted the dirty old man up by the scruff of his neck and looked him right in the eye.  
  
"Why do you always have to make my life so miserable, and why the hell are you here anyway?" Ranma demanded through clenched teeth.  
  
Happosai's face took on an innocent look and he said, "Well, ever since you left the panty raids and stuff just didn't have that old charm for me anymore. So I followed Cologne and Shampoo here to see if they found out where my favorite student was."  
  
"You know this little troglodyte!?" Ryoko screeched at Ranma.  
  
"It ain't something I'm proud of." he told her angrily.  
  
The old man looked around at all the girls and smiled. "So, you dumped Akane for your own personal harem. You got good taste Ranma, I'm proud of you."  
  
WACK! The old hentai found himself embedded in the floor under Ryoko's foot. "I'm not a harem girl, and I belong to Tenchi!" she snarled.  
  
"Who belongs to Tenchi, Miss. Ryoko I'll have you know that Tenchi was mine since before he was born!" Ayeka growled at her.  
  
"You didn't even know he existed until the came here looking for your half-brother to make him your husband, little miss incest fiend. I knew Ranma since he was just a baby." Ryoko snapped back at her.  
  
"Who are you calling an incest fiend, you monster woman!" Ayeka roared.  
  
"Oh please don't fight." Mihoshi pleaded with them but the two just ignored her.  
  
"Hey, what's all the yelling in here?" Tenchi asked as he came in from outside. He looked around the room and then his eyes focused on Ryoko who was still quite naked. His face turned bright red and twin jets of blood shot from his nose as he collapsed.  
  
"Tenchi!" Ryoko and Mihoshi shouted together.  
  
"Lord Tenchi!" Ayeka cried.  
  
"Ya know, I wonder if we are related." Ranma said with a groan as he ran his hand down his face. How did his life get so messed up?  
  
Chapter 5: Shampoo's Last Gambit  
  
Cologne decides to try one last time to get Ranma. If it does not work she will give up. Of course like many well laid plans they can backfire, and when a naked Shampoo strolls through the Masaki's back yard headed for the onsen Ryoko and Ayeka go on a rampage.  
  
Moko Takabisha Bakusai Tenketsu Nyanchiczu Kachuu Tenshin Amaguriken Umisenken Yamasenken Joketsuzoku Hiryu Shoten Ha  
  
Kusanagi Kei Kazami Mizuho – Kusanagi Mizuho  
  
Edajima Minoru Edajima Konoha  
  
Magumo Hyosuke Shido Matagu  
  
Kazami Hatsuho Kazami Maho  
  
Marie Miruru  
  
Herikawa Koishi Morino Ichigo Misumi Kaeda 


	6. Chapter 5

DISCLAIMER: "Ranma 1/2" is a registered trademark and copyright of Viz Communications, Kitty Productions, Shogakugan, Inc., and Rumiko Takahashi. All Rights Reserved. "Tenchi Muyo! Ryo-Ohki" is a registered trademark and copyright of Pioneer, LDC., AIC, Inc., and Kajishima Masaki. All Rights Reserved. "Onegai Teacher" is the registered trademark of Bandai Visual. All Rights Reserved. All other random Anime characters belong to their own specific trademark and copyright holders whomever they may be.

* * *

**THE WARRIOR AND THE PEACEMAKER**

by Michael "TheZorch" Haney

* * *

Chapter 5: Shampoo's Last Gambit

Ranma winced when he looked out the classroom window at the obliterated school grounds. It was being inspected by engineers in yellow hard hats who were just shaking their heads trying to figure out how so much destruction occurred. Luckily nobody else had seen the big fight he, Ryoga and Mousse had so that was a good thing. The last thing Ranma wanted right now was to cause problems for his new school. Coming out here to Okayama was his and Kasumi's way of getting away from the insanity of Nerima and Furinken High School. Sadly, that insanity followed them. He hoped that one day was going to be the last instance, but with the Amazons in town there was little chance of that. He never got any breaks in life, it seemed like he was doomed to forever live in interesting times.

At least he had earned a great deal of respect from his fellow students that day. Instead of being freaked out by his ki abilities and his curse they thought he was cool and were actually proud to call him their friend. That was a very welcome change for once. Having Kasumi's cousin Tenchi around also helped a great deal too. Mizuho was a great teacher, she was genuinely concerned for each and every one of her students, and she was most concerned for Ranma's grades. His paperwork from Furinken arrived and she had grimaced at his scores thus endeavoring to see them rise very soon. Since coming to this school and being in her class his scores have risen dramatically. Maybe that was because he had time to concentrate on his studies rather than worry about sneak attacks by an ancient hentai martial arts master, a amorous Chinese bimbo, an equally amorous okonomiyaki chef, or a crazed wannabe samurai. Here he was able to focus his mind on his work, that is until now. Now he was having time focusing. The old ghoul and Shampoo were out there somewhere plotting up a storm ways to make his life miserable.

"Ranma, Ranma...excuse me, Ranma."

Realizing someone was saying his name Ranma immediately looked to the front of the class. Mizuho gave him her patented "what ever am I going to do with you" look that on her looked so darned cute and he replied, "Sorry, sensei, I was thinking about something."

"I hope that something has to do with this week's test." she said and continued on with her lecture about the proper use of plurals. English was not one of his strong suits, he hated it under Hinako-sensei, mostly because he got drained when he fell asleep. Mizuho at least tried to make learning the complex language a bit more fun. English was a weird language, their work order was all wrong, several words could sound alike but have different meanings which to him was crazy, and there were plurals which he had the hardest time figuring them out. The Japanese language did not have them, it was implied mostly. The English language expressed literal meanings, nothing was ever implied.

"Saved by the bell." he said when he heard the lunch bell ring.

"Hey, Ranma, we're meeting over by the soccer field for lunch since the front is, uh, well, uh, you know." said Matagu.

Hyosuke grabbed his bag out of his desk and said, "Yeah, so grab your lunch and lets go before the best spot to watch the girl's gym class is taken."

"Hentai." Koishi laughed as she went by with Kaeda and Ichigo in tow.

"Is that all you ever think about, ogling us girls?" Kaeda asked him.

The blond boy just folded his arms behind his head and replied, "What else is there to do at lunchtime?" As he said that one eye looked right at her and winked.

Her response was to elbow him in the ribs before following after her friends while trying to hide the huge blush on her face. Despite their attempt to keep it secret it was no real secret that those two had been seeing one another. If only they knew the truth that they had gotten to know one another a lot better than that.

* * *

Kei was the last to arrive at their "spot" near the soccer field. Koishi was already there watching out for him. Ichigo took quick note of the love sick look in her eyes and just shook her head. She figured out who Kei was with a long time ago, and best of all, who he was married to. She stumbled upon the truth by accident really. She knew next to nothing about Kei, he was something of a mystery just like Ranma was now. Upon searching some of his public records, details which anyone could look up at town hall, she came across the marriage certificate joining Kusanagi Kei and Kazami Mizuho. This piece of info had been an enormous shock to the normally emotionless little girl, yet she kept their secret knowing it would be awkward for them if the truth was known. Now Ranma, he was an enigma. He had no records in town hall so she had to search the school office. As Student Council President she could access certain records in the school office. Few people paid much attention just what set of records she was looking at because everyone generally trusted her. Ranma's school records read like a script from one of those Ang Lee Hong Kong action flix. Furinken High School had a reputation that was known even as far as here, but even she did not know it had been quite that bad there. Thank goodness our head master doesn't through bombs at us., she had said to herself.

"Hey, Ranma, what'd ya bring today?" Hyosuke asked the pigtailed boy as he opened his bento.

"A little bit of everything, I guess Kasumi is trying to cheer me up." he replied looking at the huge selection before him.

The blond boy grabbed him up in a choke hold. Anyone who knew Hyosuke would know that he only did this with friends. "Man, I wish I had a gorgeous older woman making me lunch every morning." he said.

"When are you gonna let us meet her?" the blond asked, tightening the grip. To Ranma who was used to being manhandled by the likes of Ryoga this treatment felt like nothing. "Hey, Tenchi, they live at your place, what is this Kasumi like anyway? She is your cousin." he turns to ask the dark haired boy.

Tenchi just puts up his hands and says, "Hey, that's Ranma's business man."

"Kasumi." said Ranma. Hyosuke let him loose, everyone could see the wistful look that suddenly came to Ranma's face. "She's great. Kasumi is like the living embodiment of kindness and sweetness, she does everything so well, and she's so beautiful that if you look close enough into the depths of her eyes you'd think you could almost see heaven."

Koishi cooed, "How romantic, I didn't know you were a poet."

The pigtailed boy just shrugged, "Kasumi has that effect on guys. Once you guys meet her you'll understand."

"Boy, he has it bad." commented Matagu.

"I've gotta meet her now." said Hyosuke, his curiosity suddenly peeked to all time high.

It was at that very moment he decided to look up. Across the field where one of the girl's gym classes were doing some warm up exercises came a figure on a bicycle. Her lavender hair flowed behind her as she rode, her long shapely legs pumped at the peddles, and when she hit bumps certain assets did just the right amount of jiggling. To a keen eye like his it was obvious this girl didn't wear a bra.

"Holy crap, who is that girl?" he asked, literally drooling as he imagined what she must look like naked. What he did not know was Ranma already knew, quite well in fact.

"Where did Ranma go?" Kaede asked noticing that Ranma was suddenly missing.

"Don't let her see me!" she heard him whisper loudly. She and Koishi looked back to see he was hiding behind Ichigo, who had one of her patented "now this is interesting" smirks on her face."

"You know that awesome babe?" Hyosuke asked him.

"Uh, it would be a really bad idea if we let her find Ranma." said Tenchi.

The blond boy looked at the hiding martial artist and smirked, "What'cha do, make a pass at her?"'

"No, she's a crazy chick who thinks I'm her husband because of some stupid law of her people." Ranma replied.

"Her people? Law?" asked Ichigo.

"She's one of the Nyanchiczu." Ranma told her, not expecting the little girl to know what that meant.

"The Chinese Amazons, the Nyanchiczu, they really exist?" she asked in surprise.

"Nihao, I looking for handsome pigtailed boy, you see here?" the girl on the bicycle had rolled up to them and asked.

Oh man, she even sounds cuter than she looks, thought Hyosuke. "Uh, well, haven't seen nobody like that around, but if you're not busy later..."

"Airen, what you doing hiding from Shampoo?" the Chinese girl had looked over Ichigo's shoulder.

"Wode Airen." Shampoo cooed as she leapt onto Ranma and ensnared him in one of her world-class glomps.

"Wode Airen?" Ichigo, Koishi, and Kaede said at the same time questioningly. "Dear Husband?"

"Get off me Shampoo! I'm still mad at you about yesterday!" Ranma shouted as he struggled to get loose. Hyosuke and Matagu just watched. Shampoo started rubbing herself against him. The sight of a gorgeous babe rubbing her breasts against the side of their friend was too much, the two boys collapsed with major nosebleeds.

"AARGH! In the schoolyard of all places, go get a room you two!" Koishi shouted at the reluctant couple, blushing furiously. For a minute she fantasized that it had been her and Kei instead of the other two.

"Don't give her any ideas!" Ranma shouted back finally getting loose of the Chinese octopus.

"Ranma take Shampoo on date now?" Shampoo asked giving him her best cute puppy-dog eyes.

"NO! I already told you and that old ghoul that I ain't taking you out on a date and I ain't marrying you!" Ranma replied angrily.

He did not get the chance to say anything more as he suddenly had a mass of blond hair in his face. "Hey, when a gorgeous babe asks you out you don't refuse man!" Hyosuke shouted at him.

"Are you nuts, accepting a date with her is like selling your soul." Ranma countered him.

"A beautiful chick like her can't be that bad." said Hyosuke. Shampoo smiled happily to see someone on her side for once and nodded her head eagerly.

"You don't know the hell she and her great grandmother put me through for a year and a half!" Ranma shouted at him. "They locked me in my cursed form and used the cure to try and bribe me into marrying her, they used hypnotic mushrooms, some kind of love potion pill thing, and I don't even went to remember the passion spice!" Just thinking about "that" made him shudder.

"Ranma very stubborn." Shampoo said with a nod.

"Shampoo, get this through your thick skull. I don't love you." Ranma told her. Shampoo looked away for moment as if hurt, then suddenly tried to leap towards him again with her arms ready to ensnare. Ranma was ready for it this time and dodged out of the way.

"I love Kasumi." he told her. For a brief instant the look on Shampoo's face when he said those words made his heart drop. He'd seen a look of sadness on Shampoo's face before but nothing to this magnitude, however as quickly as it appear the look was gone.

The lavender haired Chinese Amazon went back and quickly mounted her bike. "Shampoo suddenly remember, she have delivery to make." She rode off quickly trailing tears on the wind.

"That was pretty cold of you Saotome." Kaede chided him.

"You broke that poor girl's heart." Koishi scolded him.

"Listen guys, I don't hate her, but I don't love her either. She thinks she loves me, but I think its mostly just her trying to fulfill her people's laws. I never wanted any of this to happen, I didn't wanna have'ta break her heart or nothing." said Ranma who put his face in his hands looking very depressed.

"He likes her better than he wants to admit." Ichigo observed. Koishi and Kaeda both nodded understandingly.

Ranma wheeled on them making the three girls cringe. "I DON'T LOVE HER!"

Koishi sat back up first and said, "But you at least like her."

"She's ok if she ain't try'n to get me to take her out or marry her. I ... I like her, ok. She's ... cute, but she ain't the one I'm in love with." he said turning away.

He found a strong arm suddenly around his neck. "If ya don't want her, I could take her off your hands for ... ITE!" said Hyosuke who was smacked up-side the head by a suddenly angry looking Kaede. Ichigo's eyebrow went up at that and she gave the older girl a knowing smirk which made Kaede suddenly blush bright red.

Saved by the bell, Ranma told himself as he heard the school bell signal the end of lunch period. "Well, time to go. See ya in class guys." he said as he took off running at a speed that simply inhuman.

"Ara, he moves fast." Kaeda said watching him go.

The school day couldn't ended fast enough for young Saotome Ranma. He sighed with relief when he saw the house through the trees as he and Tenchi walked the path from the bus stop. It was still standing at least. He'd been worried about Kasumi with Shampoo and the old ghoul roaming town. It wasn't likely that they'd try to hurt her, at least he hoped not. But, if they ever did try it would be the last straw. When or if that day came the gloves would be off and he would show them real power.

"Lets put our book bags away and hit the onsen." Tenchi suggested. To Ranma that sounded like a really nice idea. There was one thing he really enjoyed about living at the Masaki home and that was the onsen. There's nothing like a lot of hot water to warm the heart of a Josenkyo victim. They went inside, left their book bags in their rooms, grabbed their bath supplies and headed out.

It was a short time after they were gone that Kasumi spotted something she knew the other girls definitely wouldn't like. She was in the kitchen chopping a large white vegetable for dinner when her sharp eyesight spotted movement in the back yard. At first she thought it was Ryu-Ohki, but when it came out into the open there was no mistaking whom it was.

"Ara. Ryoko-san and Ayeka-san are not going to like this." she said out loud.

"Huh?" Sasami said questioningly then stood up on her tip toes to look out the window. She immediately turned around with a bright blush on her kawaii little face.

"I do hope they don't hurt her badly. She really is a nice girl once you get to know her." said Kasumi as she returned to her work.

At that moment a cry of outrage could be heard from another part of the house. Well, that didn't take long., Kasumi told herself. She put down the knife and went into the living room where she found Mihoshi trying without much success to stop Ayeka and Ryoko from going outside.

"Out of my way you airhead!" Ayeka growled pushing Mihoshi aside. Ryoko yanked her hand away from Mihoshi's grasp and popped out of existence only to reappear out in the yard directly in the path of their intruder. The girl took noticed of this person standing in her way. She folded her arms over her bare and ample chest and gave her a look of strong determination.

"Who the hell do you think you are?" Ryoko demanded.

"Shampoo only after Ranma, not after nice stick boy, so you let Shampoo pass and no get hurt." the intruder said in a voice that screamed cute.

Ayeka stormed forward and shouted, "And here I thought Ryoko-san was brazen and without morals, but YOU!"

Shampoo pointed at Ayeka. "You like crazy ribbon girl." Then at Ryoko. "You crazy spike hair girl, Shampoo no meet someone like you in Nerima."

"You like nice stick boy, not Ranma. Let Shampoo have Ranma, why you trying to stop Shampoo?" she asked them.

Ryoko was about to say something when Ayeka stepped forward. "First of all, you uncouth savage, we don't walk through the yard naked! Second, Ranma is in love with Lord Tenchi's cousin Kasumi. And third ..."

A pair of bonbori appeared in Shampoo's hands out of nowhere. "Shampoo have no time for this, out of way and no get hurt."

"You're the one who's gonna get hurt little girl." Ryoko smirked. To Shampoo's eyes it looked as if the girl summoned a small ball of ki, squeezed it in her hand, and manifested what looked like a ki sword. Shampoo underestimate that one., she said to herself in Japanese.

"HIYA!" the Amazon cried when she attacked. Ryoko easily dodged the first bonbori swing and sung her light sword at the second. Shampoo's eyes went wide when she watched her weapon get sliced and diced. She looked at the mangled bonbori in her hand and took note of the red hot edges where the sword struck. Shampoo seriously underestimate spike hair girl., she told herself again.

In the first few seconds of the fight Shampoo had totally ignored Ayeka. The girl who looked perhaps a little like Akane and acted like Kodachi didn't at first appear to be a threat at all. She'd been concentrating on Ryoko so hard that she barely noticed it when her danger sense went off. She managed to cartwheel out of the way when a blast of what looked like lightning zapped through the space she'd been occupying. Ryoko gave out a loud cry of pain and outrage less than a second later.

"Watch your aim, Princess Bitcharella." a slightly singed Ryoko groused.

"Why don't you stay out of the way!" Ayeka growled back. Shampoo whirled around and took notice that the other girl who had come to stop her was no longer wearing a kimono. She somehow changed into a strange looking body suit and painted her face with strange dark angular markings.

Shampoo make same mistake twice in same day, now Shampoo pissed off., the Amazon told herself. She dropped the bonbori and produced a pair of sai. She lunged forward intending to catch the girl who threw the lightning by surprise, but Ayeka was a much better fighter than she normally lets on. Her mother was the best martial art on Jurai, and she taught her little girl everything she knows. Ayeka leaned to the side just enough to let Shampoo sail past, spun around on her right heel, and delivered a fierce kick to the center of the Amazon's back with her left foot.

Shampoo flipped over and sat up just in time to watch dozens of strange wooden log like things suddenly materialize all around her. "You are so totally out of your league little girl." Ryoko said with her arms folded and with a satisfied smirk on her face.

"Shampoo break silly logs AAAHHH!" Shampoo cried when she tried to get up and hit something invisible which also shocked the hell out of her at the same time.

Cologne watched all of this from a distance. Age had not diminished her eyesight in the slightest. Shampoo was being completely and utterly humiliated down there, it was like she was a child trying to fight a pair of bullies. She wasn't being out fought or out smarted, she was being totally outclassed by two people who apparently possessed strange powers. The only one she knew of personally who might have been able to create a sword of ki might have been Prince Herb of the Musk, and the other girl showed a little fighting skill but seemed to also possess usual powers. To imagine one her people's best fighters, defeated so quickly and so handedly by just to opponents. Two outsider females to be exact. Shampoo's pride was going to be severely wounded by this. This defeat also was going to lead her great granddaughter down a road she'd best not travel despite what the law demands. Yosho had been right to warn her.

Shampoo had recovered and was now whacking at the shield imprisoning her with a sword. Cologne bounded out of the trees and pogo sticked towards them.

"Great granddaughter, I believe that will be enough." Cologne said when she finally reached the three in the yard.

"They defeat Shampoo, must give them ..."

"Don't go down that path Shampoo, it will only lead to your undoing." Cologne warned her.

"But, the law!" Shampoo shouted at her.

Cologne sighed and said, "I am waiving it in this instance. From what I can see you cannot defeat these two as you are now. This incident has proven to me that I've been too lax in your training."

Shampoo slumped to the ground and sigh, "Aiya."

The ancient, diminutive woman turned toward Ayeka and Ryoko. The only reason why they hadn't attacked was because the old woman made to threatening gestures, but they had been ready. "Thank you for showing great restraint when fighting my great granddaughter. It would have pained me to have to take her corpse back to China." she said to them with a bow.

"Ranma has expressed that he still considers her a friend despite their history together, so ..." Ayeka started.

And Ryoko finished with, "We just kicked her around a little bit." Ayeka glared at her for interrupting but said nothing. Despite their constant bickering those two like one another more than they like to admit., Cologne told herself.

"STOP! DON'T HURT THEM!" came a shout from the direction of the onsen. Ranma came running up at incredible speed leaving a dust trail in his wake. Tenchi was close behind him with the Master Key in hand, but the blade wasn't ignited. He made the mistake of looking in Shampoo's direction and had to suddenly grab his nose to keep from passing out from a sudden drop in blood pressure.

"Aiya! Airen come to save Shampoo!" the young Amazon cheered.

"Only you could associate with such powerful friends, Ranma." Cologne said to him with a smirk.

Ranma let out a sigh of relief. He knew Shampoo was a skilled fighter but Ayeka and Ryoko, though not as skilled in fighting style, simply overpowered the young Amazon girl. She was an ordinary human going up against a pair of super-powered alien women. By all rights Shampoo should have been a greasy smear on the ground right about now.

"Ara. Now that it seems the fight is over why doesn't everyone come in for some tea." Kasumi said from one of the windows. Everyone looked towards the naked Amazon and back up at her. Sasami came outside carrying a bundle of cloth.

"She can wear one of Kasumi-chan's dresses." she said.

Ayeka sighed and released the shield holding Shampoo. Only Sasami and Kasumi together could calm such a tense situation. Those two together were indeed a force to be reckoned with. Shampoo gratefully took the dress from Sasami and slipped it on. It was a bit long, longer than she used used to, but it did fit well. Ranma had to admit, she did look good in it. Everyone moved into the house, they each sat at the dinning room table as Kasumi and Sasami brought out the tea and some snacks. The eldest Tendo sat down next to Ranma, very close to him in fact, and he didn't seem to mind it at all. When Shampoo saw this she forced herself to look down at her hands in thought.

"Thanks for not hurting them and all." Ranma said to Ayeka and Ryoko.

"We aren't savages," Ayeka replied, then looked over at Ryoko. "Well, most of us are not."

Ryoko whirled around to face her. "What's that supposed to mean?"

"You have no female modesty what so ever. How many times have I caught you fragrantly exposing yourself to Lord Tenchi?" Ayeka asked her with a sly smirk. Tenchi put his face in his hands and started to slowly crawl under the table.

"At least I have something to show, oh mistress of the padded bra." Ryoko shot back. Shampoo couldn't help giggling, earning her a scolding look from the princess.

Ayeka puffed out her chest and said proudly, "I am more womanly and dignified. Lord Tenchi wants a woman of culture and dignity, not some cheap ten yen whore."

"Are you calling me a whore?" roared Ryoko.

Mihoshi, as always tried to defuse the situation without much success. "Now, please don't fight, we have guests."

"And Shampoo thought fights with kitchen destroyer and spatula girl were bad." thought Shampoo out loud.

Cologne chucked and said, "It seemed Ranma's isn't the only one with girl issues."

Sasami went between the two girls who seemed on the verge of blowing the house apart, again. "Stop it you two, we have guests and I don't think Noboyuki-san will like having his house blown up again." she scolded them. Ayeka and Ryoko both calmed down instantly and sat down pouting. Satisfied that things were under control again, Sasami went back to her seat next to Mihoshi. Ryu-Ohki jumped up onto the table and started nibbling at some carrots she sat out for her.

"Kawaii, but strange. Shampoo never see cat-rabbit before." the young Amazon commented.

Cologne looked at the creature with wide eyes then looked at the people at the table for a moment before turning towards Shampoo. She said something to her in Mandarin Chinese which made Shampoo turn pale. She looked over at Ayeka and Ryoko and started to visible shudder.

"Something wrong, Cologne-san?" Kasumi asked the ancient matriarch.

Cologne started laughing, uproariously at first and then calmed down to a low giggle. "I think she's finally loosing it." Ranma muttered to Kasumi.

"Ranma, my boy, you certainly know how to choose power friends." said Cologne whom was still giggling.

"The name Ryu-Ohki is known among my people. For as long as I remember the story of it has been passed down from generation to generation." Cologne explained. Everyone looked at her in surprise, how is it she knew that they wondered. If she knew stories about Ryu-Ohki then how much else did she know? Cologne answered that unspoken question with what she told them next.

"According to our ancient writings our people migrated from easter Europe where we once did battle with the old Roman Empire. Yes, my ancestors are the ancient Amazons written about by the ancient Romans and Greeks." she said. "But, before that, it is said that we originated from a place called Atlantis. History says its a myth, but accord to our ancient records it existed and it was once a colony belonging to a people know as ..."

"The Jurai." Ayeka said interrupting her.

Cologne nodded, not at all surprise that the girl knew the answer. "Hai."

"Wait, you're saying that your people are descents of the Jurai?" Ryoko asked her incredulously.

"That's exactly who they are." came an all too familiar voice from across the room. With a knowing smirk on her face Washu walked up and joined them at the table. She immediately summoned her translucent keyboard and began to call up holograph displays Shampoo reached out towards them and was amazed when her hand passed through one and she didn't feel a thing.

"I've done some research. It appears there were two colonies on Earth belonging to the Jurai. One here in Japan and one on Atlantis." she explained.

"Exactly, but the colony on Atlantis was lost during a violent earthquake." Ayeka told her.

Washu waved her hand and said, "Not exactly. According to what I found, there was a revolt on Atlantis. The Japanese colony was operated by the royal family of Jurai, but the Atlantis colony was run by Merton Corporation of Jurai."

"Merton? Weren't they investigated for unsafe working conditions on several mining asteroids a few years ago?" Mihoshi asked her.

Washu nodded, "Apparently they were very lax in adhering to Galactic Union safety protocols even back then. The workers revolted, sabotaged the main power reactor on the island continent and escape to Europe just before it went up."

"But, I was always told it was a natural disaster." Ayeka said sounding very confused.

"The whole affair was an embarrassment for the royal family because the head of Merton at the time was a royal. The revolt was covered up, both to keep the incident from hurting the perception of the royal family in the public eye and to also protect the Juraians who were involved in the revolt." Washu explained further. "The royal in charge of Merton was stripped of his rank and privileges and exiled to a small planet in the Qualin Sector. The colonists who revolted were given the option to remain on Earth or return to Jurai. Most chose to stay. When things calmed down that is when Earth was placed on the non-inference list by the Galactic Union."

"What crab hair girl talking about great grandmother?" Shampoo asked, thoroughly confused at this point.

"I would gather, great granddaughter, that most of these people at this table are not entirely human." Cologne explained to her. "Our ancestors were not from Earth."

"Aiya! Shampoo is alien!" the young Amazon exclaimed in shock.

"More like one-third alien to be exact." Washu corrected her.

Ranma sighed and said, "I guess explains how the old ghoul has lived so long. That and Shampoo's hair."

"And, she is my great granddaughter." said a voice behind them. They all turned to see Katsuhito as he entered the house.

"Nice to see you again ... airen." said Cologne. The floor shook as the entire room suddenly face-faltered ... hard! Later that night Ranma sat up on the roof and looked up at the stars. Ever since living with the Masaki clan his perception of those stars changed so much. Before he wondered what was up there, what could be out there, was their life, were they alone in the universe? Those questions were answered, and new questions arose. What else is out there, and when will I get to see it? His musings were interrupted when he heard a gentle foot fall on the tiles next to him. His ki senses told him that whomever it was wasn't Kasumi and was female.

"Shampoo want talk with Ranma, just talk." she said to him.

"Ok."

She sat down next to him making sure to give him a little space. She didn't say anything for a while prompting Ranma to ask, "Well, you wanted to talk. What about?"

"Ranma, you in love with nice girl Kasumi-san?" she asked him. He knew this was coming. It had to be done, she had to be told. Though he told her already he had to make sure she understood he was serious.

"I love her so much I can't put it int'a words, ya know." he explained. "She's ... she's so different from Akane and Ucchan and all the other girls I know. She doesn't expect all these things from me, doesn't expect me to wanna get married right away and doesn't wanna start a family right away. She wants me to love her, and she's happy with that."

It had to be true. She'd never heard Ranma say that he loved anyone before, and especially not so openly. Her heart could barely take it, she tried to keep it together but the pieces were falling between the fingers. Finally she couldn't hold it anymore and the tears came in a torrent.

"Shampoo?" he said calling her name questioningly when he saw her start to break down. She's crying, not just crying, she's sobbing. Hold on a second, she couldn't be in love with me for real, it was all the fault of her laws. Wasn't it?

"Shampoo ... Shampoo l ... love you so m ... m ... much it hurt inside. Hurt lots." she stammered between sobs. She was started when she felt a pair of powerful yet gentle arms encircle her. She buried her face in his chest and the last of the dam finally broke. Cologne came up to the roof just long enough to see what was happening, shook her head at such a lost opportunity and then went back into the house. Kasumi came up via the ladder that had been put into place for her weeks before. She saw them and decided to just wait and listen.

"I figured it was just, ya know, you're laws and stuff making you say you loved me." said Ranma after Shampoo's sobs finally died down.

She sat up and shook her head. "No, Shampoo fall hard for Ranma. No, no girl can no not fall in love with Ranma." she explained.

Story of my life., he told himself. "Shampoo, I do care about ya, but I don't love ya like that. I love ya a different way." he told her and couldn't believe how hard it was saying this.

"Shampoo finally understand. Shampoo could no see it." she replied wiping her eyes.

"I never wanted to hurt ya, I never wanted to hurt anyone." said Ranma. "I'm, I'm sorry."

Shampoo shook her head. "No, Shampoo sorry for to making Ranma life very hard. She stop chasing him now."

She was a bit surprise when he pulled her into a tight hug. "I want ya to be happy though. Not sad. I'm sure there's another powerful martial artist out there who can defeat you." he said.

Shampoo laughed, "Not like Ranma. Shampoo need time get over you, need bury herself in training."

"There's always Mousse. He's a good fighter, when he wears his glasses, and the guy worships the ground you walk on." he explained to her. "That sorta selfless devotion is kinda rare these days."

Shampoo's eyes went wide when he suggested Mousse, but the last sentence he said started making a few gears turn. They were rusty, caked with hardened grease, but they were turning nonetheless. "Will see." was all she said.

"Are you ok?" Ranma asked her.

Shampoo sat up and replied, "Hai. Shampoo feel better now."

"We still friends?" he asked her. To his surprise she leaned over and kissed him on both cheeks and then the forehead.

"Uh." he stammered, not quite what that meant considering the Amazon's strange laws.

"There. You is Shampoo's brother now." she cheered and gave him a tight hug. It wasn't one of her "I got you now" glomps but if he'd been a lesser man he'd have a few broken ribs.

"Bro ... th ... er!" Ranma said between gasps for air.

"Hai! Shampoo have strong big brother who love her now. She so happy!" she cooed and squeezed him tighter.

Kasumi descended the ladder and wiped the tears from her eyes. That had been the most beautiful thing she'd ever seen. Why didn't I fall in love with him earlier? In fact, why didn't I choose him from the start? Wearing a happy, contended smile she went back into the house to join the others.

* * *

Chapter 6: Meow, Be My Bride!

The Masaki household goes to the fair, Ranma asks Kasumi out on their fist official date as a couple, and Ryoko finds a cute little silver bell. Almost overnight Ryoko begins to slowly change into a C.A.T. Washu is at a total loss to explain things, but Ranma knows who's responsible. Its Tenchi vs. Mamo Lin!

Notes: The idea of the Chinese Amazons being descendants of the European Amazons of Ancient Greek and Roman history was based on genetic fact derived from a study of people who lived in the steppes of Mongolia. They are genetically linked to a race of warrior women from Russia who are themselves linked to the European Amazons both genetically and culturally. The Atlantis link was my own creation, but then I myself believe that Atlantis did once exist and its only a matter of time before evidence of its existence is finally unearthed.


	7. Chapter 6

DISCLAIMER: "Ranma 1/2" is a registered trademark and copyright of Viz Communications, Kitty Productions, Shogakugan, Inc., and Rumiko Takahashi. All Rights Reserved. "Tenchi Muyo! Ryu-Ohki" is a registered trademark and copyright of Pioneer, LDC., AIC, Inc., and Kajishima Masaki. All Rights Reserved. "Onegai Teacher" is the registered trademark of Bandai Visual. All Rights Reserved. All other random Anime characters belong to their own specific trademark and copyright holders whomever they may be.

**oOOOo**

**Special thanks to Marc B. at the Zorch Central Blogs for assisting with this chapter and for his contribution which improved the ending.**

**oOOOo**

**Michael "TheZorch" Haney's**

"**The Warrior and The Peacemaker"**

**oOOOo**

**Chapter 6**

"**Meow, Be My Bride!"**

Over three weeks had passed since the incident with Shampoo. Three weeks since her unexpected change and Ranma's adoption as her brother of all things. There wasn't enough room at the house for Shampoo but Katsuhito offered her and Cologne the small guest room up at the shrine. Being Shampoo's brother was something Ranma had to get used to but it didn't take long for him to start taking it seriously. Cologne seemed happy with the decision despite everything that happened. She was reunited with her former husband and though centuries of age now separated them it didn't prevent them from becoming good friends. Eventually she'd have to return to Nerima to attend the ramen shop, but Shampoo would be allowed to stay if she wanted. For now Cologne was content to stay near Katsuhito. It wasn't long before it was time for the summer festival. Eagerly everyone in the Masaki home awaited its arrival.

Kasumi held onto Ranma's arm as she watched Sasami, with Ryu-Ohki on her head, rush from one booth to another as they entered the festival grounds. She leaned against the young pigtailed boy's arm and smiled warmly. One day, she knew in her heart, they'd have a little girl or boy of their own. She knew Ranma would likely want a boy to pass on the art to but Kasumi herself wouldn't mind a little girl whom she could pass on her mother's recipes to. Since coming to live in the Masaki home, Kasumi has fallen head over heels in love for the cute little princess. Just watching her now stirred up Kasumi's maternal instincts and a growing desire to start a family. Ranma was progressing very well. Kasumi's efforts to deprogram him of all of his baka oyagi's stupid notions about women and what he thought he knew about women from Akane had been a struggle. She knew that he was starting to love her, she could see it in his eyes, could feel it in his gentle touch and the way he kissed her. He no longer flinched when she reached out to touch him nor was he afraid of intimate contact. They'd even gotten into the habit of sitting on the roof together to watch the stars. He would hold her while she sat in his lap, their hands would be intertwined, fingers softly caressing. Kasumi had never before known what it was like to feel "desire" for a man. A year ago she would have said it was improper, but now things were different. If he wanted her she would not hesitate nor resist. She wouldn't try to accelerate the coming of that day when they would finally make love. No, she would wait for that day to come on its own and that day would be all the sweeter because of the waiting.

Ranma and Kasumi's swiftly progressing relationship was starting to put pressure on Ayeka and Ryoko. They watched as the two from Nerima grew closer and more loving since their arrival. It all spelled bad news for poor Tenchi. Although, the young first prince of Jurai was starting to weaken under the two women's constant onslaught of attention. That was the reason why he walked with the two on his arm. Just about every young guy at the festival gave him a jealous look, so did a few girls, and a number of boys who knew Tenchi from his old school looked on in absolute shock and betrayal. He only learned a day before that his old friend Amagasaki, a portly kid with a Groucho Marx inspired nose, had left for Tokyo supposedly because he found out about the girls living at the house. 'It would be something the large boy might do,' thought Tenchi when he found out. His father was getting very close to his long time secretary Reiya. She was still in high school when he was very young and she used to come over and cook for them after his mother died. She'd been a friend of his mother's and learned many of her culinary secrets. She was very pretty, young, and Tenchi could see the tiny sparks of love in her eyes whenever she looked at his father. Secretly, the Juraian prince wished them all the luck in the universe. He smiled seeing them walk together like a couple ahead of him and the girls. Katsuhito walked next to Tenchi with his granddaughter at his side and Cologne on his shoulder. They were all together at the festival as a family. Nothing could ruin this feeling, Tenchi believed.

"Ara." Kasumi gasped in surprise when she glimpsed a sign up head. It read "Tunnel of Love". She turned to Ranma to suggest that they go but to her surprise the blushing young martial artist beat her to the punch.

"Y-Y-You wanna ride the Tunnel of L-L-Love?" he asked nervously while his eyes looked pleading. It has taken a great deal of courage for him to ask her out to the festival. This was going to be their first real date together.

"Hai." She smiled and blushed fiercely.

"Oooo! The Tunnel of Love, lets ride it together Tenchi," Ryoko said and began to tug the young prince on ahead. She was almost yanked off her feet when Ayeka dug in her heels and and stopped them.

The young first princess of Jurai showed Ryoko an expression that could curdle milk. "Where do you think you're going with Lord Tenchi? If anyone is going to ride the Tunnel of Love with him its going to be me."

Ryoko scowled back at her with an expression that could melt lead. "I don't know where you get your delusions from your royal bitchiness. As a matter of fact, you should know that Tenchi and love are very much in love." Ryoko snuggled up to the boy in question and nearly smothered him in her cleavage.

Ayeka wrenched Tenchi out of the former space pirate's grip and let him dropped unceremoniously onto his rump. She ignored the goofy look on his face and the line of blood dripping from his nose as she stalked up into Ryoko's face. "You see here, Lord Tenchi and I were born to be together!" she shouted.

"In your wet dreams maybe," Ryoko shot back with a smirk

Ayeka fumed, "You're the one with the unrestrained sex drive, you ... you spike haired floozy!"

Ryoko continued to smirk and shouted back in retaliation, "Oh? Unrestrained sex drive you say? Who is it who has a three speed vibrating dildo hidden under her bed?"

Ayeka's eyes went wide with shock and her face turn bright red. "What were you doing looking through my private things?" Ayeka demanded in unadulterated rage.

"Oh so it was yours," Ryoko said with a bright smile.

Ayeka heard gasps and giggles coming from the crowd of onlookers. A few women looked shocked, a few looked on with hungry eyes, and a small number just smiled like Cheshire Cats. Nearly every young man and old man for that matter were on the ground with massive nasal hemorrhages. So were a few girls.

"LIES! ALL LIES I TELL YOU!" Ayeka raved. She turned to Tenchi and asked him, "Lord Tenchi you don't believe any of what this ... this monster woman is saying do you?" She looked at him with pleading eyes brimming with tears.

"Uh..." he said scratching the back of his neck. A sudden vision went through his head, a naked Ayeka playing with a ... TWANG!

"LORD TENCHI!" Ayeka cried out in alarm as the young man went flying backwards via a rocket propelled nosebleed.

"Ara. Ara." Kasumi sighed. Ranma wished he could hide somewhere and hurried Kasumi along to the Tunnel of Love Ride before the inevitable firestorm between the two alien women could erupt. Mihoshi and Sasami sighed and walked away towards another part of the festival. The little princess saw a gold fish scooping game down one of the other rows of booths. Luckily, the girls' concern over Tenchi overpowered their desire for mutual annihilation.

"Move along, move along, nothing to see here," Washu said to the crowd when she appeared dressed as a police officer in her adult form. They all quickly dispersed and returned to enjoying the festival's "other" attractions. She turned to see the two girls fawning all over the young prince.

"Honestly, you two are going to give me gray hairs before I'm thirty thousand," she said with a sigh and reverted back to her usual age and attire.

**oOOOo**

"Those two never stop." Ranma sighed.

Kasumi decided to joke a bit with Ranma. "I thought you might be used to it by now, Ranma-kun. They do remind me very much of two of your own suitors." Kasumi then softly rested her head on his shoulder. She blushed lightly when she felt his arm reach around to hold her close.

"The only one I want attention from now is right here," he whispered softly.

As the swan shaped ride entered the darkness of the Tunnel of Love the two lovers moved closer and their lips met. Never could Ranma have imagined that he'd enjoy kissing a girl as much as he loved kissing Kasumi. Deep inside he was starting to want more, especially after an accident in the onsen a month ago which ended with him getting a very good look at Kasumi in the buff. He still couldn't get that image out of his head. There she was, totally in her birthday suit with a bright red blush on her face. It was an accident and then later it turned out that the whole thing had been Ryoko's doing. The trap that ended up sending him flying into the girl's side of the onsen had originally been set up to catch Tenchi. It turned out alright in the end, as embarrassed as they felt Kasumi didn't get angry and in fact allowed him to stay. Well, that is after she wrapped a towel around herself. When he really thought about it though that was the day when things between them really started to change. He wasn't as nervous around her anymore and he actually "wanted" to hold her and kiss her. They started sitting up on the roof together at night. And, he was starting to have very "interesting" dreams about her at night. The kind of dreams he was sure Happosai would certainly approve of. Speaking of the little troll, Ranma was starting to get worried. If the old man isn't around for a long time it usually means big trouble is coming.

"Ranma-kun." Kasumi sighed contentedly as she melted into his arms. Their lips met and though the ride itself was short, for the two of them it seemed to last forever.

**oOOOo**

"Nyow. Young ... nyow ... lady why don't you buy one of my ... nyow ... special bells.".

Ryoko eyed the somewhat creepy looking booth owner and then looked over the merchandise. He was selling what looked like small Christmas bells. Two bells where hooked together, it looked like they were sold as a pair. She picked up one and gave one a ring. "What's so special about this?" she asked. Her "special" senses didn't detect anything unusual about the bells, but the booth keeper selling them was giving off a really weird vibe for a human.

"They're ... nyow ... Love Bells. Nyow ... give one to the man that you ... nyow ... love and ring the other at ... nyow ... midnight. In the ... nyow ... morning he'll be nyow ... all yours."

"Really?" she asked him in glee.

"Guaranteed to ... nyow ... work or your ... nyow ... money back," the man replied.

The cyan haired ex-space pirate slapped down a handful of coins. "I'll take a pair!" As she left the booth keepers eyes turned yellow and the dark pupil grew into slits. He began to laugh.

"Nyow ... by tomorrow night ... nyow ... you'll be mine."

**oOOOo**

Ranma gasped as a feeling of dread crept up his spine. His head swiveled around frantically looking for the source. new para

"What's wrong?" Kasumi asked him, lifting her head from his shoulder to look at him with concern.

He growled on the edge of panic. "There's a cat near by, I know it. Always trying to sneak up on me, dirty little fur balls."

"Oh Ranma-kun." Kasumi sighed and shook her head.

**oOOOo**

Time flies when you're having fun they always say, and before long it was time for everyone to head back home. The residents of the Masaki home began gathering at Noboyuki's van when it started to get dark. Sasami and Mihoshi both had a huge arm full of prizes they both won. Kasumi held a large white teddy bear close to her chest that Ranma had won for her at the strength game. Ryu-Ohki sighed contentedly as she clutched her carrot shaped plush toy Sasami had won for her. The ride home was quiet. It could have been more exciting had the girls gotten into another fight but this time Tenchi wasn't going to let it escalate. He'd been training himself on how to deal with the girls and asserted himself when it came to them. A fight nearly broke out when they both wanted to give him a gift at the same time, but Tenchi put his foot down and stopped their bickering before it escalated into something worse.

"Arigato Ayeka-san, Ryoko-san," he said truthfully as he admired their gifts. Ryoko's little gift was a tiny bell hung on an elastic string that he tied around his wrist like a bracelet. He noticed that she had one like it. Probably some love charm thing like those love arrows he saw someone else selling at the festival. Ayeka's gift was a necklace with a heart pendent. He accepted both graciously and gave them each a present of their own which brightened their faces. For Ayeka he got a new oriental style fan which went well with her house kimono. When she opened it she saw her name stitched in the fabric surrounded by little hearts. She loved it and held it close to her chest. A gift for Ryoko wasn't that hard to pick out. For her he got a T-shirt that read "#1 Space Pirate in the Universe". She accepted it nonchalantly but as she held it close a smile appeared on her lips and tears welled up in her eyes. The very back seats of the van were narrow and close together. That didn't matter to Ranma and Kasumi who cuddled all the way home. Cologne looked back at the two a few times and smiled. Saotome has certainly changed since leaving Nerima.

Little Sasami peered out into the hallway outside of her and her sister's bedroom with the door barely open. Ranma was kissing Kasumi goodnight. It was rather long for a goodnight kiss. She stifled a giggle and heard Tsunami giggle somewhere far away. Blushing a bit she closed the door all the way and went to her bed where she would dream of one day finding her own boyfriend. Ayeka was already fast asleep, a happy smile on her face as she clutched Tenchi's gift. Smiling, the little girl reached up to the bedside table and switched off the light. Ryoko yawned and floated up to her rafter in the dinning room. She looked over at the clock on the wall and saw it was just a little bit until midnight. She smiled brightly eagerly awaiting the appointed hour. Ranma closed the door to his and Tenchi's room. He didn't want to leave Kasumi and it took an immense effort to leave her side. If this is what being in love feels like he wanted to beat himself half-to-death for not wanting to experience it earlier in his life. Tenchi was finishing up getting ready for bed and gave Ranma a knowing smirk. The pigtailed boy blushed a bit but no longer did he have the urge to deny his feelings. No, he loved Kasumi, he admitted that he loved her to his friends at school. The two young men said their good nights and turned out the lights.

Masaki Katsuhito looked in on Shampoo who was now snoozing lightly in her room. It was the third time he checked on her. Cologne sat in the living area of his small house attached to the shrine and pured them some tea. "You seem restless this night, airen," she said to him.

"I feel something ... unusual ... in the air tonight," he replied.

Cologne looked out the window at the trees of the surrounding forest. "Yes, there is a strange aura to the air tonight," she said. "It has a familiar feel to it, but I can't quite recall when I last felt it."

"Its not natural whatever it is. Perhaps though it is something that will pass by morning." Katsuhito said. He sat at the table and look the cup of tea offered by Cologne.

"Perhaps," she said while still looking out of the window.

**oOOOo**

"Ranma! Ranma!"

"GET OFF'A ME!" Ranma screamed as he shot up in bed.

He looked around and for a few seconds he didn't recognize where he was. He did know immediately that he wasn't in the pit anymore and the cats were gone. Tenchi and Kasumi were kneeling next to his bed with looks of concern. It was obviously morning outside as sunlight was beginning to light up the bottom of clouds in the sky.

"Its alright Ranma-kun, the cats are gone," Kasumi said soothingly. She reached out and hugged the young man to her chest. A goofy smile came to Ranma's face as he reveled in the softness of Kasumi mounds. She noticed his reaction and blushed with a smile, glad to know she was able to cause such a reaction in him.

"You haven't had a nightmare about them for a long time," she added as she gently combed his hair with her fingers.

"Arigato Kasumi-chan," Ranma said softly as he put his arms around her.

Feeling a little like the third wheel, Tenchi left the room to give the two some alone time. He was blushing a little himself. Never had he seem two people who were so much in love. Well, that really wasn't true, he had seem two others who were almost exactly like them. They were his mother and father. He headed for the stairs leading to the family slash dinning room. He heard the sound of clanking pots and pans from the kitchen. Sasami was always up so early in the morning to take care of the family. Though she was a little girl she always seemed so mature for her age. Tenchi guessed it had something to do with Tsunami most likely. Usually Kasumi was up helping her but Ranma's cat nightmare nixed that this morning. He only had one other nightmare so far that Tenchi could remember.

Tenchi heard Ryoko let out a loud yawn from the rafters above. She slowly, tiredly, drifted down to the floor rubbing the sleep from her eyes. She looked up to see Tenchi looking at her with a strange expression on his face. It was a look of admiration, nor a look of love, its was a puzzled expression she'd never seen on his face before.

"Ohaiyo Tenchi," she purred intending to fly up and give him a good morning glomp. She stopped when he started to snicker. Sasami came out of the kitchen with the tea service on a tray and stopped in her tracks. Her cute little blue eyes went wide and she started to giggle. Tenchi couldn't hold it in anymore and totally lost it.

"Hey! What's so funny?" she growled at them.

Tenchi pointed at her and laughed, "Those ... ears! HAHAHAHAHAHA!" Sasami almost dropped her tray as she cracked under the pressure and started laughing.

"What about my ears?" Ryoko demanded and reach up to her ear. She stopped when her hand touched something that wasn't supposed to be there. It was a part of her, she could tell that clear, but it furry. She followed whatever it was and her eyes went wide as she began to realize what it was she was feeling.

"WHAT THE HELL!" she exclaimed and ran to one of the decorative mirrors handing on the wall.

Ayeka came down the stairs yawning and said, "Ryoko-san, why must you be so loud in the morning?" She saw Sasami and Tenchi leaning on one another as they laughed then looked over at Ryoko who was looking at herself in the mirror.

"Ohohohohohohoho!" she guffawed when she finally saw the ears.

Kasumi and Ranma came down the stairs quickly to see what going on. When he heard Ayeka's laugh it sent a chill down his spine. She was a nice girl but that laugh reminded him way too much of Kodachi. Kasumi asked what the matter was. Ayeka couldn't stop laughing and pointed at Ryoko. new para

Kasumi gasped, "Ara!"

Ranma didn't know what was going on so he weaved his way around the girls and went to see what was happening with Ryoko. "Hey, what's going on?" he asked her.

Ryoko turned to look at him with tears in her eyes. The first thing he saw were the ears and right before his eyes a set of whiskers appeared on the alien girl's face. There was a sudden blur and a loud thump from the ceiling. Everyone looked up to see Ranma clutching at the ceiling with his hands and feet looking down at Ryoko with an expression of absolute terror.

"CAT!" he cried.

"What's going on out here, can't a genius get some sleep?" Washu grouched as she came out of her lab still dressed in her pajamas.

**oOOOo**

Tenchi tried to desperately prevent a nose bleed and turned away from where Washu had Ryoko strapped into her examination machine. The cyan haired ex-space pirate was strapped down completely naked by the machine's tentacle arms. The image brought to mind all of his father's tentacle rape anime and manga. It was a little too much for the young prince to handle so he turned away and grabbed his nose. It helped when Ayeka covered his eyes. new para

Ranma, who was used to seeing beautiful women naked, his cursed form included, wasn't bothered at all. He didn't like the cat ear and whiskers still so he was standing "behind Kasumi". new para

Sasami looked on blushing an intense red and covered up Ryu-Ohki's eyes. new para

Outside, Noboyuki was tied up to the couch so he couldn't go grab his camcorder.

"Let me down Washu!" Ryoko growled as she struggled the against the restrains.

"I'd release the restraints if you'd let me scan you, otherwise moving around just messes up the readings," Washu replied without looking up from her translucent terminal.

"Is this really necessary Washu-chan? I mean, isn't there another way to scan her?" Tenchi asked, his eyes still covered by Ayeka.

"Ok, all done. You can rematerializes your clothes now Ryoko." the diminutive genius said and the tentacles released the cyan hair beauty. She immediately floated down to the floor, as she did her body blurred for a moment as her dress appeared out of nowhere. Seeing that her chief rival was now fully dressed, Ayeka uncovered Tenchi's eyes.

"So what's wrong with her?" Tenchi asked.

Washu shrugged and said, "To tell the truth my scans show nothing out of the ordinary."

"Nani!" they all gasped at her.

Ryoko grabbed the short genius by the collar. "What kind of genius are you?" she snarled. She let Washu go the second a large flower pot smacked her on the head.

"The scan shows nothing out of the ordinary but clearly something is definitely happening to you," Washu said totally unfazed. She tapped a few keys on her terminal and a display of Ryoko's DNA appeared on a large holographic display. "Her quasi-DNA is inexplicably being rewritten as we speak, but the method by which this is happening in unclear. I find no viral, bacterial, nor nanoscopic intrusions. Normally Ryoko is completely immune to organic diseases, viruses and bacteria since she is only quasi-organic in nature and isn't carbon based."

"Uh..." Ranma said scratching his head since all of Washu just explained went right over his head.

"Could what's happening to her be a ... uhmm ... a programming error?" Ayeka asked her.

Washu deactivated the image and replied, "Well, technically Ryoko isn't 'programmed' actually, though she shares similarities with Ryu-Ohki's architecture she isn't an organic computer, but she's not an ordinary life form either."

Ryoko grabbed her eat ears and demanded, "Then what's doing this to me?" When she did so the little bell on her wrist tinkled. It drew Ranma's attention almost instantly. Despite his fear of cats his concern for someone whom he had come to consider a friend was much stronger.

"Where d ... d ... did you get that b ... b ... bell?" he asked her.

Ryoko sighed, "Oh this thing? The guy at the festival said if you give one to the man you love and you ring the other one at midnight then that man would be all your by morning. It didn't work though." Ayeka lifted Tenchi's arm to see an identical bell there and was about to protest when Kasumi walked over and looked at it also.

"Ara! Ranma-kun, are you thinking that this might be 'his' doing?" she asked Ranma.

The pigtailed martial artist nodded. "Might be. Uh, Ryoko d ... did this guy act or t ... talk strange?"

The cyan haired girl thought for a moment and said, "Yeah, I seem to recall him meowing just about every other word he said. It was weird."

Ranma slumped his shoulders and hung his head. "Oh no, please no not him again," he pleaded.

"I think I'm missing something here, but do you two know this man?" Ayeka asked Ranma and Kasumi.

"It has been almost a year now since it happened," Kasumi explained. "Do you know the legend of Mamo Lin, the ghost cat?"

Tenchi's eyebrow went up in a Spock Maneuver and he said, "Yes, actually, grandpa used to tell me that old story when I was little. Its the tale of a ghost cat who wandered the world looking for a bride, but its just a story."

"You wish, that f ... f ... flea bag is nothing but trouble," Ranma said.

"Are you saying that Mamo Lin is real?" Sasami asked him.

Ranma want on to explain the past two encounters with the ghost cat. As he told the story of how the cat tried to get Shampoo to marry him Washu went to her terminal and started typing at machine gun speed. The sensor array reached down and grabbed Ryoko again. She yelped as it pulled her up and devices used to inhibit some of Ryoko's powers made her clothes disappear. Tenchi averted his eyes just in time to prevent a nose bleed, again.

"Hmmm," Washu said looking at the new readings. "Yes, I didn't think to look for this before but now I can see it. There's a massive amount of foreign spectral energy surrounding Ryoko."

"Washu let me down!" Ryoko complained as she tried to resist the restraints.

"Settle down," Washu said waving at her and continued. "According to this data Ryoko's quasi-DNA is being rewritten into that of a ordinary Earth cat. I can try to filter out this energy which will then allow her auto-repair mechanisms to take over and reverse the damage."

Ranma heaved a huge sigh of relief. "Oh good, we don't have to deal with him again," he said.

"If he's just a ghost he can't be that bad," Sasami said.

The pigtailed boy looked up at her with tear filled eyes and said, "Famous last words."

"Uh oh." Washu said and everyone looked at her.

"Uh oh! What the hell do you mean 'uh oh"? Get me down!" Ryoko growled as she continued to struggle.

"The foreign spectral energy, it seems to be interwoven with her own spectral energy. If I try to filter it out Ryoko could ... cease to exist." she explained.

"NANI!" everyone screamed in shock.

"Washu-chan, please help Ryoko," Sasami pleaded.

"If I had time I might be able to write a program that could purge the energy from her matrix, but the change is happening to fast for that. She'll change completely into a cat by midnight tonight." Washu explained to them.

"I DON'T WANNA BECOME A CAT!" Ryoko cried and right before everyone's eyes a furry tail suddenly popped out from behind.

Tenchi stepped forward with a hard, determined look on his face. "Where would this ghost cat be right now?" he asked.

"Fairly close by if he does what he did the last time this happened," Kasumi told him.

Tenchi reached into his shirt and took out the Master Key then headed for the door to the living room. "Lord Tenchi, wait!" Ayeka cried out to him as he left. Everyone followed him into the living room. Ryu-Ohki's ears perked up the instant Sasami crossed the threshold of Washu's subspace lab and back into real-space. She leapt off Sasami's head and scampered to the patio doors where she stopped and looked outside. Her back arched, her hair stood on end and she hissed and growled angrily. They all looked outside and gasped.

"The ... the ... the back yard is full of cats," Ayeka said in surprise.

"ARA!" Kasumi cried as Ranma suddenly disappeared up under her skirt.

"HIDE ME!" Ranma cried in terror.

"Oh Ranma, Ranma, Ranma," the eldest Tendo sister sighed shaking her head.

Tenchi slid open the patio door and stepped outside. Ryu-Ohki followed hissing and growling as she went sending the Earth cats scrambling out of the way. Tenchi looked around and just as his grandfather taught him he listened with his senses.

"They're all so cute," Sasami said as she picked up one of the cats and its started to purr. newpara

Ayeka panicked and batted the creature away. "Sasami, don't touch them, you don't know where they've been."

"Nyow! Now that's not a ... nyow ... nice thing to say," said a voice from out of nowhere. It was a very high pitched voice and sounded like it came from the end of a long tunnel.

"Are you Mamo Lin, the ghost cat?" Tenchi asked the disembodied voice.

The girls all let out a cry of shock as a massive form materialized in front of Tenchi. He did not move an inch as the bulky ghost cat made its appearance. The creature was certainly big, sort of looked like a big white cat, and had a huge bell hung on a ribbon around its neck. Knowing of Ranma's intense fear of cats it was no wonder to Tenchi why his cousin's boyfriend was so freaked out by this thing. As for Tenchi, he really wasn't that impressed. Dr. Clay was way scarier than this thing.

"Reverse what you did to Ryoko!" he demanded.

"Nyow, I can't do that," the big cat said.

"Why not?" Tenchi demanded. Behind him Ryoko, now fully clothed, and Washu came out into the yard. The cyan haired ex-space pirate took on look at the thing and made a disgusted gagging sound.

"That 'thing' wants me to be its bride? Ugh! Its hideous!" she spat.

"DARLING!" the ghost cat cried in glee and threw itself at her. Its trip ended quickly when an energy blast knocked it back ten feet.

The cat landed on its head scattering the Earth cats in every direction. It sat up painfully, rubbing its head. "Nyowie! Why is I always attract the violent ones? Nyow."

"YOU TRICKED ME!" the ghost cat looked up and its eyes went wide in terror as Ryoko came down from the sky with her light sword leading the way. Despite its size the cat was able to dodge the blade as it came down and caused a small explosion of dirt and rock.

"Nyow calm down my love. Nyow, can't have none of that." He reached up to the bell around his neck and gave it a ring. Ryoko stopped in her tracks, the mask of rage on her face dropped instantly. In fact, she showed no emotion at all.

"Nyow, that's better," the cat said with a big fanged smile.

"What did you do to her?" Tenchi demanded moving towards Ryoko.

The cat waved its paw and its bell began to glow. "Nyow! I've waited and waited and waited ... nyow ... for almost forever for my bride! I won't be stopped ... nyow ... this time!" All around the cats in the yard looked up at him and their eyes began to glow.

"Demon cat ninja, arise and protect your master!" Mamo Lin commanded. new para

Tenchi slid to a halt on his feet as the cats suddenly began to transform into half-man, half-cat creatures in black ninja attire. One of the creatures gave a loud hiss and swung at him with its paw, huge sharp claws appearing as it did so. The Master Key ignited and Tenchi deflected the creature's attack with ease. He watched helplessly as Mamo Lin picked the immobile Ryoko up and started to carry her off.

"Ryoko!" Tenchi shouted hoping his voice might wake her up. A horde of ninja cats got in his way, each brandishing a set of nasty looking claws. Behind him he heard Sasami scream. Something inside of him suddenly snapped at the thought she might be in danger. He whirled around and leapt over the ninja cats that had gotten around behind him. Two of the creatures had cornered Sasami against the house. They didn't live long as the Master Key cut the creatures down. Their bodies instantly dissolved into nothingness where they fell. Sasami latched onto him and he hurriedly took her over to where Kasumi was standing with Ayeka. The first princess had instantly changed into her battle armor using the special rings they used when going after Ryoko when Kagato kidnapped her almost a year ago. The princess' mini-logs appeared and were giving a dozen of the ninja cats the shock of their lives.

"Kasumi, take her inside, please," Tenchi said to his cousin as he left Sasami with her and ran off to join Ayeka in the fight. Ranma was hiding behind Kasumi in a near panic. Six of the cat creatures broke off from the fight with Tenchi and Ayeka and went straight for them. Kasumi saw them coming.

"RANMA-KUN, HELP ME!" she cried. She didn't look back to see if Ranma had heard her. If she did look back she might have been frightened at what she saw.

"MMMMMRRROOOOOOOWWWWWWWW!" The ninja cats stopped in their tracks, their eyes went as wide as dinner plates. From behind the girls came a creature straight out of hell, a creature that radiated terror as a palpable force.

Neko-Ranma. Worst still, Neko-Ranma protecting his chosen mate.

The ninja cats knew the face of death incarnate when they saw it. Neko-Ranma didn't give then a chance to run away, he was pissed and took it out on them with ferocious vigor. Ki-claws riped and shredded the creatures within seconds. Between Neko-Ranma, Ayeka, and Tenchi they had the whole group of demon cats cleaned up in a matter of minutes. During all of this Washu just stood there with her translucent computer watching her readouts.

"Kasumi-chan, what's ... what's wrong with Ranma-niisan?" Sasami asked as a slightly battered Ranma came slinking back towards them.

Kasumi smiled encouragingly at Sasami. "Don't be afraid. He won't hurt you." new para

Ranma walked up to them and like a cat rubbed his head against Sasami, purring as he did and then rubbed against Kasumi's legs. The young women let out a yelp as Ranma reared up on his legs and knocked her down onto her rump. Remembering what Akane had to do to calm Ranma down she commanded herself to stay calm, she knew he wouldn't hurt her, and started petting him and saying soothing calming words. Eventually Ranma curled up in her lap and fell asleep.

Washu got an evil look in her eye. "So, that's the result of the Neko-ken is it? I wonder if Ranma wouldn't mind if I used his father as a guinea pig for my experiments." new para

A year ago Kasumi would have protested such an idea, but not anymore. That man deserved to be punished for what he's done to Ranma. Ayeka ran back to check on her sister and Kasumi but stopped when she saw them. She looked at them with a puzzled expression and at Ranma who looked like he'd just been in a fight. She knew of his fear of cats and knew that fighting them must have been the hardest thing he'd ever done.

Tenchi looked back to see that the girls were safe and after seeing that they were ran off towards where the ghost cat took Ryoko. He could still see the ghost cat in the distance. It was sweating bullets and it ran up the stairs towards the shrine. Tenchi poured on the steam and took the stairs three and sometimes four at a time. At the top the ghost cat stopped and panted heavily as it sat Ryoko down. He looked down the stairs, saw Tenchi coming at top speed then ran off with Ryoko again. Tenchi got to the top of the stairs and started to run after them.

CLANG!

"Baka ghost cat, you try to take Shampoo as bride again?" Shampoo demanded angrily, one of her bonbori maces was stuck in the thing's head.

"Nyow! That hurt you know!" Mamo Lin groused rubbing its head.

Cologne came out of the house next to the shrine and sighed heavily. "Here we go again," she said.

"Hmmm," was all Katsuhito said as he adjusted his glasses.

Tenchi walked up and pointed the bright blue blade of the Master Key at the ghost cat's head. "Now, reverse what you did to Ryoko."

"Nyow, nyow. Everybody is always ... nyow ... trying to take away my ... nyow ... brides," the ghost cat sobbed.

Shampoo raised her mace again and warned, "Do what nice boy Tenchi say or Shampoo beat you up again."

"NYOW! SHE'S MINE!" Mamo Lin cried, leapt to his feet and came at Tenchi with long, sharp claws. Tenchi stood his ground and swung the Master Key around in a single rapid arch. Mamo Lin looked at his paws in total disbelief when he saw that his claws had all been cut off in one attack.

"Hmmm. Excellent form." Katsuhito said having seen the move.

"He has fine control over his weapon, like it's an extension of his own body," Cologne agreed nodding her head.

"WAAAH! All I want ... nyow ... is a bride!" Mamo Lin cried and the big ghost cat started to kick and beat the ground like a little kid that didn't get his way.

"There are better ways to get a girl than trying to steal them." Tenchi told the pitiful creature. He was beginning to feel sorry for the thing. If the legends were all true about Mamo Lin the ghost cat has been searching for a bride for a very, very, very long time.

"What do you expect me to do, put a personal in the newspaper? I'm a cat ... nyow! No woman wants a cat for a husband!" the ghost cat sobbed.

Tenchi sighed dejectedly. At that moment Ayeka and Kasumi came running up the stairs. They left Sasami behind to watch over Ranma while he slept. "Asaka! Kamadake!" Ayeka said in a commanding tone. The twin guardians, looking like a pair of large logs, appeared at her side instantly.

"Yes your highness?" they asked as they appeared.

She pointed at the ghost cat and commanded, "Seal that thing up in a force field."

"Yes ma'am!" they said. The guardians instantly appeared on either side of Mamo Lin and trapped the ghost cat within a force field. The cat tried to get free but it was unable to break through. He tried to teleport but he found that to be impossible too.

"We'll let you out if you let Ryoko go and reverse what you did to her," Tenchi told him. newpara

The cat inside the shield sighed and plopped down onto his rump. "Fine," he said in a defeated tone and rung his bell. new para

Immediately Ryoko suddenly woke up and started looking around. "What the hell? How did we get up here?" she exclaimed.

"Ok, now reverse what you did to her," Tenchi ordered him. new para

The cat shook his head. "Once the ... nyow ... spell begins it can't be broken."

"NANI!" Tenchi yelled at him and reignited the Master Key.

Mamo Lin cowered away and said, "Nyow! There's a way to break the spell!"

Ayeka walked up and said, "That's good. I'm not certain Ranma could handle a cat wandering around here."

"Well, what is it?" Ryoko demanded.

"Well ... nyow ... you see, only the kiss of a man who has love for you in his heart can break the spell. Nyow." the cat said.

"Ara! Well that certainly leaves Ryoko in a real pickle," Ayeka said in surprise.

Tenchi turned to regard Ryoko. He looked at the cat and asked him, "Is that the truth?" newpara

The cat nodded. new para

Tenchi put away the Master Key and just stood there for a moment not saying anything. Ryoko, having heard what the cat said was both elated but also frightened at the same time. What if Tenchi didn't love her? The thought was too terrifying for her to contemplate. The idea of becoming a cat for the rest of her life was just as equally frightening.

Tenchi glanced over at Ayeka who regarded him with a worried expression. She saw something in his eyes. She wasn't sure what it was at first, then it hit her. They were pleading eyes. Pleading, for what? A sudden gut wrenching feeling hit her, deep inside she knew why.

"Gomen Ayeka." he said in a voice filled with pain. He looked up at Ryoko and slowly began to walk towards her.

"L ... L ... Lord Tenchi?" Ayeka called to him but he didn't turn around or look back at her. He stopped when he was just a few feet in front of Ryoko. The ex-space pirate look more like an anime cat girl than she did before the change. Her hands were beginning to slowly turn into paws and a fine layer of thin fur was just beginning to appear on her skin.

"Nyow! If you don't love her in your heart ... nyow ... when you kiss her she'll instantly become a cat. Nyow! And so will you." Mamo Lin said in warning.

"Lord Tenchi please don't do this!" Ayeka pleaded and started running towards him, but an arm shot out to stop her. She looked up in shock to see it was Kasumi who stopped her.

"They'll be alright Ayeka-san. You may not have seen it, but I have," Kasumi said to her softly. "Whenever I see Tenchi look at Ryoko I would often see the longing in his eyes that I see in Ranma's eyes now when he looks at me."

"No, it can't be. Lord Tenchi loves me." Ayeka said, sobs threatening to escape her.

Kasumi nodded with a smile and said, "Yes, he does, but there are different kinds of love Ayeka-san. He loves you so very much, he loves Sasami, Mihoshi, Ryu-Ohki and even Washu. He loves you because you are his family, his strength, but the love he has for Ryoko-san is so much more."

She drew the sobbing girl into an almost motherly embrace. With tearful eyes filled with pride Kasumi watched her cousin finally come to terms with his true feelings. Tenchi took just one step towards Ryoko and drew her into his arms. He eyes went wide with surprise, she wasn't, hadn't expected this at all. The young prince didn't hesitate and the kiss he shared with the ex-space pirate shown with immense emotion. Ryoko's appearance change instantly back to her normal self and with normal hands she wrapped her arms around the man who loved her and held on tight.

"Oh Tenchi! Tenchi!" she cried when their lips parted and tears began to fill her eyes.

"Oh Tenchi! WAAAHHH!" WHACK!

Ryoko pulled her face off the floor and groaned. It was dark, but her special night vision let her see she was in the living room. She looked up and saw her rafter directly above. Ryoko sat up and rubbed her nose and grumbled under her breath.

It had all been a dream!

She looked over at the clock and gasped. It was two in the morning. She completely missed midnight! She looked at the little bell on her wrist and tore it off her arm snapping the stretchy string that held it there.

"That's the last time I buy a worthless trinket from a festival." she grumbled. She tossed the thing into a corner and floated back up to her rafter. She didn't see what was looking at her through the window outside.

"Nyow! Baka girl! She's supposed to ring it at midnight! Nyow! The spell doesn't work until she rings it at midnight!" Mamo Lin, the ghost cat raged quietly. Finally he hung his head and sighed.

"Nyow, maybe better luck next time. I hear there's a ... nyow ... festival in Jubaan ... nyow ... next week. Nyow. Maybe I'll land one of those ... nyow ... Senshi babes." he said as he turned away from the window and floated away into the dark night sky.

Ryoko hugged herself after noticing that she was still wearing the t-shirt Tenchi gave her at the carnival. "At least that wasn't a dream..." She shrugged and a perplexed look overcame her face. "But what the hell was that with Ranma being a cat?"

Sasami slept soundly in her bed, next to her sister. Had Ayeka been awake, she might have been slightly disconcerted at the giggles emanating from her little sister. Sasami with the help of Tsunami was dreaming happily of her new family and its newest additions here on Earth and the messes they seemed to always get into.

In her Lab, Washu stopped in the middle of her work, shook her head and cackled while peering through her link with her daughter. "I almost would have liked to have seen that scuffle happen my sister, but you always did like to take some of the fun out of my games. At least you taunted her a little with Tenchi's choice." She shuddered at part of the drama that had played in her mind's eye. "Remind me to not tick off Neko-Ranma..."

**oOOOo**

**To be continued ...**

Chapter 7: Enter Noike!

Ranma and Kasumi finally consummate their love. As their relationship begins to move forward at warp speed things start turning weird for Kasumi's cousin. A visitor comes calling who heralds a significant change in the Masaki home and a new iinazuke arrives. This time the iinazuke is Tenchi's. Meanwhile in Nerima, a lonely girl meets someone new in her life. Is he the one?


	8. Chapter 7 Part 1

"Ranma 1/2", "Please Teacher", "Tenchi Muyo Ryu-Ohki", and "Tenchi Muyo GXP" are the property of their respective copyright holders. All rights reserved. All original characters are protected by Creative Commons License.

**oOOOo**

_**Michael "TheZorch" Haney's**_

"**The Warrior and the Peacemaker"**

**oOOOo**

Turn around and smell what you don't see

Close your eyes ... it is so clear

Here's the mirror, behind there is a screen

On both ways you can get in

Don't think twice before you listen to your heart

Follow the trace for a new start

What you need and everything you'll feel

Is just a question of the deal

In the eye of storm you'll see a lonely dove

The experience of survival is the key

To the gravity of love

Try to think about it ...

That's the chance to live your life and discover

What it is, what's the gravity of love

Look around just people, can you hear their voice

Find the one who'll guide you to the limits of your choice

But if you're in the eye of storm

Just think of the lonely dove

The experience of survival is the key

To the gravity of love.

-Enigma

**oOOOo**

**Chapter 7 - "Enter Noike"**

**Part 1 of 2**

The first rays of the sun peeked over the tops of the mountains and into the bedroom window of a young Juraian prince. His eyes opened slowly then shut again due to the intensity of the light. Slowly he opened them again and sat up in his bed. Tenchi didn't have to look next to him to know someone was there in bed with him. Ever since the night they all had the strange dream about the ghost cat Ryoko had been coming to his room at night and sneaking into his bed while he was sleeping. He didn't really mind, but he was worried that Ayeka would eventually find out. Tenchi did not want to have to rebuild his room again.

Ever since that night Tenchi felt something different around himself in regards to Ryoko. He asked himself if he really did love her. He still wasn't all too sure, yet he hasn't lost his tempter with her recently nor has she done anything to really make him or Ayeka upset. Things around Masaki-ke were actually pretty calm. Ok, calm for Masaki-ke that is. Any place where the young Saotome Ranma lives is never one-hundred percent calm and quiet. And if it is, its usually just the lull before the storm. Tenchi caught himself running his fingers through the young woman's long cyan hair. Despite its appearance her hair was surprisingly soft.

Tenchi sighed clutching his chest and touched the young woman on the cheek. As he left the room he looked back at her sleeping form with sad eyes. Do I love her, or do I love Ayeka? I don't know, maybe I love them both. I just don't know yet, but I know I've got to decide soon.

**oOOOo**

Saotome Ranma loved the onsen at Masaki-ke. It wasn't anything like the onsen near Tendo-ke back in Nerima-ku. No this place was much better, it reminded him a lot of the different hot springs he and his oyagi used to visit from time to time when they were on the road. Some were wild springs which hadn't yet been exploited as resorts, and others were low-priced places since they rarely had any money to really do anything with other than buy a few supplies. His oyagi often stole most of what they had thus making it impossible for them to stay in place for too long.

The pigtailed martial artist washed in the traditional manner, with cold water and soap first on the deck next to the hot pool of water further back on the men's side. Ranma usually bathed here because Tenchi frequented the larger pool and Ryoko often made an appearance when Tenchi was taking a bath. He also bathed back here because of his curse. Tenchi seemed to develop chronic nosebleed problems whenever Ranma became a girl, especially in the bath. Ryoko didn't like it either, despite the fact that Ranma was still technically a boy while in female form, she still didn't like Tenchi looking at anyone else other than herself. Amazingly this was the only time that Ayeka and Ryoko ever were in agreement over something, until Ryoko makes the comment about only wanting Tenchi to look at her that is. And Ranma thought his life had been seriously screwed up.

Ranma sighed as "she" felt the tinging feeling flow through her form as she lowered herself into the near scalding hot water. The change was instantaneous. Washu has done a few scans of Ranma while he changed and she was both fascinated and perplexed at how quickly and amazingly thorough the change was. As a girl Ranma was "a girl" right down to the "fully functional" reproductive organs. He'd suspected for a while that his change was more than superficial, but Ranma had no idea it was so ... complete.

The hot water felt really good. Ranma liked it hot, the heat was good for the muscles and eased the aches and pains of long practice sessions. He still kept up the morning rituals of practice in the wee hours of the morning at Masaki-ke, but out of respect for the household he often went up to the shrine to practice. More often than not Katsuhito was already up and about tending to the ancient Shinto structure with loving care.

Ranma was so relaxed that he failed to hear the sound of the door opening on the men's side of the onsen. His subconscious mind probably filed it away as unimportant, since it was likely Tenchi coming in for his morning bath, or it could be Noboyuki or Katsuhito or both. The young martial artist's ears though picked up on unusual sounds though, the soft treading of small feet on the wooden deck, not as small as Ryu-Ohki's but small like in a woman's feet. He knew it couldn't be Sasami. The sweet little girl would never come over into the men's side for anything less than a real emergency, but he immediately ruled her out because the gait of the foot steps were too far apart to belong to the little princess. Perhaps it was Tenchi, he had small feet, the young man was a martial artist himself and a rather good one at that since he was training under Katsuhito, and the old priest was one of the best fighters Ranma ever had the pleasure of sparing with. No, Tenchi's feet were small but not that small. These were a woman's feet. He immediately sat up in a panic and his eyes darted around look for the one person he knew of who "was" a woman who would most definitely come over into the men's section.

The sound stopped behind him and Ranma whirled around ready to fend off an Amazon glomp but his eyes feel upon not a lust crazed Shampoo but a vision from heaven. Standing before him in nothing but a towel was the last person he'd ever expect to do something like this. From this angle he was easily able to see underneath her towel. At least now he knew the carpet matched the drapes.

"K ... K ... Kasumi?"

The eldest of the three Tendo sisters blushed furiously as she got into the water. Ranma suppressed a sudden urge to panic out of fear of wooden mallets and hentai hating tomboys. He and Kasumi had been getting much closer in the months since they arrived at Masaki-ke. Ever since that strange night when they had that dream about Mao Mo Lin, the memory of it still gave him chills, they'd gotten very close. So close that they feel asleep together in her bedroom in each others arms more than once. His panic reflex quickly faded when she touched him, her fingers first caressing his shoulders and then running down his back.

"Ranma ... kun," she said it in a whisper, her face as red as an apple. A new instinct kicked in and instead of running for his life Ranma reached out and embraced her. Instead of fear he felt delight when he felt her breasts, through the towel, press against his chest.

"What's wrong?" he asked her in a soft yet worried tone. He knew now beyond a shadow of any doubt that he loved Kasumi. He loved her with all of his heart and it felt good. If he had known that love felt like this he wouldn't have tried to keep the girls away. Everything his oyagi had told him about women were all proven to be nothing but lies because of his experience with Kasumi.

"I wanted to see you," she said softly, her head resting on his shoulder as they held each other. He could feel her heart beating, it was racing.

He chuckled, "We see each other everyday. Though, I don't really mind ... I ... I like holding you, Kasumi-chan." Now he was blushing, but he had a smile on his face.

She raised her eyes to his and said, "I ... I ... I'm ready."

A question was forming on his lips but when he looked into the depths of those beautiful eyes Ranma saw a look he recognized all to well. He'd seen that look in Shampoo's eyes several times. In Kasumi's eyes "the look" didn't fill him with terror but a kind of excitement. He now understood why her heart was racing. The courage it took for Kasumi to coming in here like she did must have been monumental.

"A ... A ... Are you sure?" he asked. Her answer was to let her towel drop away allowing their bare skin to touch intimately for the first time.

"I love you, Ranma-kun," Kasumi whispered, her face growing redder. "And, I trust you."

He drew her closer, their bodies pressed close together, their hearts began to race..

"I love you too, Kasumi-chan." And their lips met.

**oOOOo**

Princess Ayeka's usual morning ritual was to head for the onsen for a refreshing morning bath. Lately that's become a rather hazardous thing to do with Happosai in the area. The little gnome like creature, whom to her amazement was just an old man, was almost super human. He hasn't been around for a while probably due to the Amazons staying at the shrine. It appears Cologne and the ancient hentai have a long history together.

Carrying her bath supplies the young crown princess of Jurai reached the entrance to the onsen floating above the lake and opened the door. The fragrance of the tropical flowers that adorned the dome structure Ryoko created reached her nostrils and Ayeka smiled pleasantly. To her this was the only good thing to come out of Ryoko staying at Masaki-ke.

Ayeka stopped in her tracks when a sound reached her ears. At first she feared it was the ancient hentai returning to torment them again, but this sound came from within the onsen. Slowly she went inside making sure the door didn't make any sound as it closed. She tip-toed her way over the wooden plank floor over to a group of boulders which separated the women's and men's side of the dome. Ayeka blushed a little as she edged herself over the largest rock to look over at the other side. That sound, she could have sworn it was a woman's voice, but over in the men's section?

She heard that voice before, she knew it very well. It was Kasumi-san. But, Kasumi-san in the men's section? Ayeka couldn't bring herself to believe that sweet, kind hearted Kasumi could be so bold. She heard the sound again, this time louder. It was Kasumi, but she wasn't talking. The sound was ...

Ayeka's face turned bright red like a tomato when he eyes finally found "them" across the onsen. They were in one of the smaller pools which was ringed on nearly all sides by walls of stone and flowering plants. It just so happened that she was at just the right spot to look straight into the only entrance to that area. She tore her eyes away quickly and slid down the boulder to land on her rump in the women's section. The image of Kasumi and Ranma, their bodies entwined in love making replayed in her mind over and over again. Her imagination took over replacing Ranma with Tenchi and Kasumi with herself. Realizing what she was imaging the young crown princess quickly exited the onsen and headed for the house her entire body glowing bright red.

**oOOOo**

In the past few months things had changed for Masaki Noboyuki. Reia, who worked as his secretary at his design firm, accepted his proposal, after how many times he asked her to marry him. They'd been seeing one another off and on for a while. Tenchi suspected it for a long time, the two adults were good a hiding how they felt for one another but it wasn't enough to fool him nor the girls. He had to admit they did look good together, even though Reia was much young than his father. She'd been a close friend of the family for a long time. She and Kiyone knew one another. After the funeral she'd often came over after school to cook them dinner for him and his father. Perhaps it was in this time of mourning that the two began to drift closer. It took many years for them to finally come to this point but Tenchi knew it was what was best for them. Reia was a sweet woman and a great cook, almost as good as Sasami and Kasumi. She learned all of her best recipes from his mother.

The trip into town to visit his father's office had been a nostalgic journey for the young crown prince. He first went by the site where their house used to stand before Ryoko teleported it aboard Ryu-Ohki and moved it over to where the shrine was. He remembered his first encounter with Ryoko. She'd been a bit violent back then. Well, she'd been locked away for seven hundred years so she had plenty of reasons to be pissed off. After discovering just how much power she really had Tenchi realized that she might have been just playing with him and wasn't really serious about killing him. In fact, when Ayeka appeared she was very determined to protect him. It could have been because he had her gems in the hilt of the Master Key. Perhaps that was her original reason, but her motivations have changed since then.

His little travel back through time took him by his old high school. Tenchi was now attending a new school which was little further from home. A couple of old friends ambushed him and pressed him about the girls he was living with. He tried to explain that were relatives, which was true for the most part where Ayeka and Sasami were concerned, but they weren't buying it. One of them called his house and apparently one of the girls on other end answered a question one of the boys asked in a hushed tone he couldn't hear. They looked at him with expressions of envy and outrage.

Perhaps the biggest blow came when he learned his best friend, Amagasaki, had left town for Tokyo because of the girls. The pudgy boy had been Tenchi's childhood friend for longer than he could remember. They went to kindergarten and junior high together also. In the end they called him a traitor. Tenchi both couldn't blame them and was a little disappointed that they'd hold a grudge against him for something like this. Oh well, the true was far more damming than just him living in a house full of beautiful women. If they ever learned he was the direct heir of a powerful intergalactic empire.

Later, Tenchi he would reverently hold in his lap a large, beautifully wrapped multi-layered bento Reia had made for him earlier that day as his father drove them home. As he drove, Noboyuki would told Tenchi about how Reia used to come over to cook dinner for them after Kiyone passed away. He barely remembered that, he was really young at the time. He would caress the wrapped bento lightly, even though the food within was made with Reia hands he could in a way feel that the spirit of his mother played a part in its preparation. Tenchi knew he'd have no problem calling the young woman "Mom".

He could feel somehow that up in heaven his mother approved.

**oOOOo**

Ayeka couldn't look Ranma and Kasumi in the eye as the couple entered the living room. Kasumi was holding Ranma's arm lovingly, a blush on both their faces and there was no mistaking the glow emanating from both of them. Washu was at the dining table sipping some tea, she took one look at them and instant knew what they'd been up to. Only a total idiot couldn't see the afterglow coming from the pair. Speaking of which, she looked over at Mihoshi who didn't seem to notice it at all which really didn't surprise her none.

Ryoko up on her beam across the room noticed and gave the young martial artist a knowing smirk and Kasumi a silent thumbs up. Now if only I can get Tenchi to do the same with me.

"Sorry we embarrassed you, Ayeka-san." Ranma said quietly enough so that only Ayeka could hear him. She looked at him with shock. How on earth had he known?

"I heard you climb up the rock," he added as he and Kasumi passed beyond her earshot.

Ayeka's face turned an intense red. Ryoko, who's hearing was intensely acute, heard everything and nearly feel off her beam with laughter.

"Where is Tenchi-kun?" Kasumi asked seeing that the young man wasn't downstairs for breakfast yet.

Ayeka tried to compose herself enough to answer but Washu beat her to it. "He went into town to visit his father as his office, he said they'd be home by lunchtime." she told them.

"Ah man, and I wanted to spar with him later." Ranma sulked. Ayeka rolled her eyes, was martial arts the only thing this boy really cared about. Well, second only to the woman on his arm.

A sound came from the kitchen and Kasumi headed in that direction. "I'm going to help Sasami finish breakfast," she said before giving Ranma a gentle kiss on the cheek.

Before he knew what was happening Ranma was suddenly lynched by three women. Ayeka, Ryoko and Washu dragged him over to the dinner table and gave him a long hard stare.

"W ... W ... What?" he inquired, feeling suddenly very nervous.

"So ... how does if feel not being a virgin anymore?" Washu came out and asked him bluntly. Mihoshi looked over at him with wide eyes, looked towards the kitchen, amazingly her mind put two and two together and she passed out as all the blood in her body rushed to her face. The three women just gave an exasperated sigh.

"Washu-san! Don't embarrass him so." Ayeka scolded Washu for being so bold.

Then she asked, "Well?"

Ranma blushed furiously. "Look at him, he's turning as red as the sands of Al'Targus III. You're a naughty boy, Ranma!" Ryoko teased.

Acting uncharacteristically shy under the gaze of the three ladies, Ranma fidgeted for a moment then said with a happy smile, "It feels, nice, because I was with Kasumi and I love her."

"By George I think he's finally growing up," Washu chuckled and slapped the young man on the back.

**oOOOo**

The afternoon finally came and Noboyuki stopped his car in front of Masaki-ke. Tenchi went straight to the kitchen with the bento. Sasami was there looking through a large cook book, probably looking up a recipe to use for dinner that night when the smell reached her nose. She looked up and went over the counter to help Tenchi unwrap the package he had.

"It smells wonderful, did Reia-chan make this?" Sasami asked.

Tenchi nodded, "Yes, from the recipes she learned from my mother."

"You're mother's?" Sasami said questioningly and Tenchi nodded solemnly in answer.

Sasami stopped for a moment to reflect on this then with gentle hands slowly helped him open the package making sure hot to tear the cloth wrapping. She knew how important Tenchi's memory of his mother was to him. So this meal was to him something sacred and should be treated as such. She respected that, in the back of her mind she could hear Tsunami say a single word in a barely audible voice.

"Kiyone-chan,"

They laid out the different bento boxes of food, there was a lot here and it looked incredibly tasty. "I'd like us to have this for dinner tonight," he said. "Is that alright?"

Sasami nodded with a happy smile, "Sure, Tenchi-neiichan. I'll make some rice balls to go along with it, how about that?"

Tenchi agreed, that sounded very good. Anything Sasami and Kasumi made in the kitchen tasted great. Combined with Reia's cooking and his mom's recipes tonight was going to be a something special. He left the precious bento to her loving care and went into the living room just as his father came in with a large box.

"Dad, what's that?" he asked. Ranma came in behind Noboyuki holding a larger box but unlike his father the young martial artist wasn't breaking a single sweat. Noboyuki looked like he about to drop the thing. Tenchi went over and took the box from his father who let out a sigh as he left go of the burden.

"Take them to your room boys," Noboyuki told the two boys and lead the way up the stairs. Curious, Ayeka, Ryoko, a new conscious Mihoshi and Washu followed them upstairs. After stowing the bento away in the kitchen safely Sasami soon joined them with Kasumi leading the rear. She had been out back putting out the laundry.

Washu watched with great excitement as Noboyuki opened the boxes and took out a pair of Terran computers. The other girls all watched with interest, they had a vague understanding of what they were looking at. Computers on earth were nothing compared to what was available on Jurai and other worlds, but they still had their uses. The red headed, diminutive genius cooed with delight when Noboyuki installed the Nvidia graphics card into the PCI Express slot. The only one who didn't seem to understand what she was looking at spoke up.

"Uncle Noboyuki, what is this?" Sasami asked him.

"Huh? Its called a person computer," he replied as he next plugged the IDE cable into the DVD re-writable drive. Sasami knew what computers were but she'd never seen Earth computers before.

"I figured Tenchi and Ranma should learn how to use one." he added.

Ranma scratched his head, he wasn't sure how to use a computer. The closest he ever came to using a computer was when he played a game called World of Warcraft over at Daisuke's house one time before he left Nerima. He looked over at Tenchi to see what his reaction to all of this would be.

"Although it might not be that interesting to you guys ... " said Tenchi.

Noboyuki finished for him saying, "But for civilian use on Earth its pretty good. I spent a lot of time on this thing."

"Probably downloading porn," Ranma heard Ryoko whisper to Ayeka who nodded in agreement.

Washu kept her attention on what Noboyuki was doing in the computer case. "Ah, so this is how it goes," he said when he finally got the IDE ribbon cable into its socket the right way. The PCs were older models from his design firm, both replaced by shiny new Apple iMacs.

They all watched silently, Ayeka looked nervous, Mihoshi looked perplexed as usual, Kasumi seemed rather curious, Sasami was the same, but Washu looked like a little girl in a candy store. The technology was stone aged level to her but she found it fascinating none the less.

"Dammit! Washu you're surprisingly quiet today!" Ryoko groused at her. "Knowing you, I figured you go on a lecture or two."

In a sudden panic Ayeka turned red and went up into Ryoko's face.

"How could you say such a thing, Ryoko-san?!" she looked nervously over at Washu.

"What are you going to do if this turns into another Washu lecture?!" she demanded.

Ryoko rolled her eyes and just sighed, "But its not like her."

Ayeka dug her finger nails into the other woman's arm and whispered, "She'll hear you." Ranma just rolled his eyes and shook his head at them. Those two fought almost as often as Shampoo and Ukyo.

"To be able to see the construction of a primitive network unit," Washu said with awe. "This is moving!"

Noboyuki laughed, "Primitive ... you say? Well, seeing it from your perspective, I suppose that is true."

With a sigh Tenchi added, "I guess its something like watching a child making a string phone."

Washu chuckled, "But, no matter how much the technology advances, its still difficult to convey your feelings to another person." She first glanced at Tenchi then at the her daughter and Ayeka who both grimaced under her gaze. Kasumi just looked thoughtful.

Ranma stuck his thumb behind him at the sleeping forms of Mihoshi and Ryu-Ohki in her childlike form.. "And these two aren't even listening to other people's sarcasm." he said. Washu look over at them and rolled her eyes. Mihoshi, sleeping? That wasn't anything unusual.

"Even for Washu-san, the pinnacle of the survival of the fittest," Noboyuki look up from his work with a thoughtful expression. "There's still Mihoshi-san as her natural nemesis."

"The food ... I mean, the power chain in the Masaki household is thus formed into a ring." he added.

"What is it?" Washu asked, surprised at such a philosophical statement from the man.

The older man look away and adjusted his glasses. "Oh, nothing at all." he said nonchalantly. The conversation went over Ranma's head and he just scratched his head in confusion.

"Don't go narrating things on your own, all right?" Washu looked at Noboyuki with bemused expression.

"Well ..." he shrugged his shoulders as the doorbell downstairs suddenly rang.

Ryoko put up her hands saying, "Oh, I'll go get it." Then quickly phased through the floor.

No matter how many times he'd seen her do that since moving here Ranma still wasn't use to see her do that. She was the only one with strange powers. He'd seen what Ayeka was capable of when she and Ryoko got into one of their big fights. And the though the girls back home were violent.

Downstairs Ryoko phased through the ceiling of the front atrium and groused, "I can't possibly deal with something so tedious." She teleported to the floor and went to the door.

"Yeah? I'll be right there ... " she reached for the door, saw the feminine silhouette on the other side and had a sudden and traumatic flashback of her first encounter with Sasami and Ayeka's mother Misaki. The ditz had mistaken her for Sasami, making comments about her hair and then threw her, hard, against the wall when Sasami came to the door.

"No ... it can't be ... " she shook her head. "its not Misaki-san is it?"

"Huh? No, its not." came a vaguely familiar voice from the other side of the door.

"Really?"

"Really." She back to back away from the door.

"Really for real?" she wasn't going to take any chances.

"Really for real."

"So its really really for real ... ?" Ryoko laughed and backed away further from the door.

Upstairs Ayeka started looking a little worried and said, "Ryoko-san's late, I wonder what she's doing?" Washu shrugged her shoulders and went back to watching Noboyuki.

"I'll go see what it is." Kasumi offered and Sasami quickly joined her.

"I'm not good at stuff like that ..." Sasami admitted to Kasumi as they left Ranma and Tenchi's room. Kasumi just smiled at her as they went downstairs. Though she came from the most technologically advanced civilization in the known galaxy Sasami was not all that technologically inclined. Her prowess was in the kitchen.

Kasumi opened the door to the atrium. Sasami looked around for Ryoko and saw her hiding behind the main set of stairs that lead to the second floor. The woman had a look on her face she hadn't seen there since before she adjusted properly to her merger with Zero.

"Ryoko-oneechan, what are you doing?" she asked.

"I was just worried that it might be Misaki," Ryoko said a bit shakily.

"Excuse me ..." came the voice from the other side of the door.

"Ara, just a moment," Kasumi said as she went to the door.

Ryoko panicked but didn't move from here spot. "Don't do it, Kasumi!" she warned. Kasumi opened the door to reveal the person standing outside.

"Sorry for the interruption," the woman outside said with a bow.

"Sure," Sasami said to her. Behind her she could hear a gagging noise coming from Ryoko. She and Kasumi looked back to the cyan haired girl look like she had seen a ghost.

Upstairs in the boys' room the flat panel monitor sitting on the computer desk started to make noises and flash with different colors. Noboyuki looked up from his work to see what was the ruckus.

"Hey, Tenchi, you don't need to turn the power on yet." he said.

Tenchi shrugged his holders and help up the power cord for the monitor which wasn't plugged into anything. The distortion on the display began to condense into an image of a panicked Ryoko with tears in her eyes.

"T ... T ... Tenchi, its here!" the digital apparition said in a distorted voice.

Tenchi jumped back and pointed at the screen. "Ryoko? You ..."

Ryoko phased through the screen and with a pleading voice told him, "Uh ... um ... please listen to me."

Sasami slid the bedroom door open announcing, "Tenchi-neiichan, there's a visitor for you!"

"Oh, ok. Thanks, Sasami-chan." he said and went towards the door. Ranma shrugged and decided to follow him. He was getting board of seeing Washu drool and Ayeka trying not to look board out of her mind.

"Tenchi!" Ryoko called to him but he and Ranma kept going.

"Tenchi!" Ranma shut the door as they left. Ayeka went over to the panicked woman.

"Ryoko-san, what is the matter?" she demanded. She knew Ryoko enough to know things usually didn't effect her like this unless it was something very serious. This involved Tenchi and so she was of course very curious and a bit concerned. Ryoko just looked at her with a powerfully sad expression. At that moment Mihoshi and Ryu-Ohki decided to finally wake up.

"What is going on?" the blond asked as she rubbed the sleep from her eyes. Ryu-Ohki did the same and meowed the same question. Ayeka looked at them and shook her head.

Ranma followed Tenchi down the stairs to the living room. As they descended a figure became revealed. She stood by the large bay windows looking out into the garden that Sasami and Kasumi often lovingly tended. She wore a long pink kimono, her cyan colored hair was tied back leaving two bangs to hand down on either side of her face. This woman turned to face them as they reached the bottom.

"Um, I'm Tenchi," Tenchi announced himself, wondering who this woman was. Ranma had to admit she was pretty, and for some odd reason she looked familiar. He knew he'd probably seen her picture from somewhere but he wasn't sure where. Who is she?

He heard Tenchi let out a shocked gasp. A look of surprise was on his face, a single tear fell from his eye.

"Mom?!"

**oOOOo**

**Coming Soon Chapter 8 - "Enter Noike" Part 2 of 2**

Tenchi comes face to face with many revelations about his family, his past, and his future when a few quests show up at Masaki-ke. Not to mention things get complicated when a fiance shows up, and this time its not Ranma's. Meanwhile, Ranma and Kasumi discuss where they're going to take their relationship now that they've finally made love, and back in Nerima-ku Akane meets someone new.

**Notes**

The final half of this fan fic follows the events of OAV #3 episode 1, even the dialog of Tenchi and the gang with exception of Ranma and Tenchi are lifted from the anime. I've got a few long term plans on where this story will be going in the near future. Lady Seto will be making an appearance in the story eventually, but I don't know if I'll have Z appearing anytime soon. Perhaps I'll diverge from the 3rd OAV here and spin off into a completely different direction. The Please Teacher cast will make more appearances soon also.


	9. Chapter 7 Part 2

"Ranma 1/2", "Please Teacher", "Tenchi Muyo Ryu-Ohki", and "Tenchi Muyo GXP" are the property of their respective copyright holders. All rights reserved. All original characters are protected by Creative Commons License.

**oOOOo**

_**Michael "TheZorch" Haney's**_

"**The Warrior and the Peacemaker"**

**oOOOo**

**Chapter 8 - "Enter Noike"**

**Part 2 of 2**

"Mom?"

"How have you been Tenchi?" the young cyan haired woman asked in a gentle voice.

"I," Tenchi tried to say but be couldn't believe his eyes, it was her, he knew that face better than anyone. Tears began to stream down his face blurring his vision.

"Mom,"

"Tenchi, its not like that ..." the woman said coming over to him as he fell to his knees in front of her. A few tears well in her eyes as well to see him this way.

"Mom, you're alive," he sobbed and the woman held him close also on verge of crying.

"Its not like that," she said again, then she heard the sound of someone else crying and look up at the stairs. Several people were standing there, she knew who most of them were, but the young couple standing further up the stairs she didn't know. The young man was handsome, and the young woman leaning on his shoulder sobbing was beautiful.

"I'm go happy for you Tenchi," Ryoko sobbed.

"Tenchi-niichan," cried Sasami. Ryu-Ohki always on her shoulder spewed out a torrent of tears.

"I don't really get it but ... whaaaaa!" Mihoshi wailed hosing the place down in a manner that would have made Tendo Soun proud.

"Isn't it wonder, Ranma?" Kasumi asked the man she loved wiping away the tears.

At that moment Noboyuki came down the stairs commenting about the computer saying that Tenchi would be surprised once it booted up. Once the reached the middle landing offering a view of the living room he froze. His eyes looked onto the visage of the woman holding his son in her arms, a visage he thought he'd never see ever again.

"Kiyone," he breathed, stepped forward and slipped the rest of the way down the stairs. Ranma had to pull Kasumi out of the way to keep her from being dragged down with the man. When he landed at the bottom Noboyuki repositioned his glasses.

"Kiyone so you're come back," he cried.

The woman holding Tenchi had a strange edge to her face when she replied, "Long time to see. I'm glad you seem well." It was like she really wasn't all that happy to see him.

"Kiyone!" the man clamored over to her and grabbed her in a tight hug.

Looking annoyed the young woman said quietly, "Hey, cut it out."

Noboyuki pulled back some and looked the woman whom he knew as his wife and said, "Now, since its been a while give me a big kiss ..." He puckered up really big and leaned in. He didn't get very far. The young woman delivered a punch first to his gut which doubled him over then a swift uppercut that sent him fly towards the ceiling.

"Cut it out already!" she yelled belting him in mid upward flight sending him out of the house through the open patio doors, over the deck, and into the lake. Everyone look including Ranma just stared in surprise and blink blinked.

"Not another Akane," Ranma sighed heavily.

Noboyuki climbed out of the water and made his way back to the patio doors. "You're so mean, Tennyo!" he cried. Everyone went "Huh?" and gave the young woman another glance.

"That's what you get for being out of line," the young woman said, her hands on her hips. On her beautiful face she wore a very angry scowl which would have made even Akane wince.

"Tennyo?" said Tenchi looking up at the woman he thought was his mother with confusion.

"Well, to clarify matters she's your older sister, Tenchi." said Noboyuki pointing his thumb back at the young woman. Tennyo took a rather embarrassed pose and started laughing behind the long sleeve of her kimono.

"NANI!" everyone all exclaimed except for Kasumi who smiled happily.

**oOOOo**

For the next half-hour Tennyo, Tenchi, and the rest of the Masaki household sat in the living room. The revelation that he had an older sister was something of a shock for Tenchi. Learning that she used to fill in for his mom when she began to grow ill had also been something of a surprise. Saotome Ranma watched the exchange between the two and found himself wishing that he had a sister. He wondered what his life would have been like if he'd had one and she was a part of his life when he returned from the training trip with his father. Ranma decided to stop dwelling on things that would never happen in a million years. He'd been submerged so deep into his melancholic daydreaming that he barely registered what Tennyo said next. She was kneeling on the coffee table hugging her little brother affectionately.

" ... hand you over to an iinazuke yet!"

Ranma paled. The room had suddenly become very cold and it wasn't because of his Soul of Ice. Knowing that Tenchi's suitors were far more proficient at massive property damage than his own the young pig tailed martial artist operated on pure survival instinct. He grabbed Kasumi's hand and headed for the nearest exit when Ayeka and Ryoko both leapt to their feet in protest.

"Oh man, what is it contagious or something?!" he exclaimed as they continued to run from the house. Kasumi, suspecting what was going through Ranma's mind, could only laugh as she allowed herself to be lead away. She really couldn't blame, he was probably in full panic mode right now. The eldest of the Tendo sisters knew what was needed to calm him down though.

"Ranma-chan, can we slow down?" she begged, not used to running this fast her legs were starting to tire. Instantly concerned for her Ranma slowed and then stopped letting her catch her breath.

"I'm sorry," he turn to her in concern.

"Its alright, I know how you must have felt in there." she said with a concerned smile on her lips. She'd watched Ranma's life from the sidelines for a long time since he came to Tendo-ke. Unlike the others her view of his world wasn't skewed by preconceived notions nor a failure to accept reality. It was this unadulterated view which slowly lead her to fall in love with him.

Ranma scratched the back of his head, not out of nervousness but out of pure habit. The nervousness was gone replaced by a different feeling. That feeling was love.

"Brought back some bad memories," he admitted. It had been months since they left Nerima-ku, and the only trouble they faced was the recent appearance of Shampoo and Cologne, but that wasn't such a problem anymore.

Kasumi could feel in her heart what Ranma needed, she moved close to him and wrapped her arms around him resting her head on his shoulder. He didn't hesitate to hold her this time, in fact he hadn't hesitate to return her affections in a long time. Ranma enjoyed the softness of Kasumi's breasts pressed against his chest, and was reminded of their first time together in the onsen. A certain part of his anatomy started to react, Kasumi felt it press against her leg and smiled happily. She felt pride in herself for being able to get a reaction like "that" out of him, and she'd been longing for a repeat of that day in the onsen. Like her mother, Kasumi had inherited a strong libido, only she'd had the strength of will to suppress it until now. Many of the Tendo women had it, and the more boisterous they were the worse it was. Which meant Akane was going to be a full blown nymphomaniac assuming she actually allowed someone to get that close to her to become intimate without killing them.

Ranma shivered and held Kasumi closer. "You know, nobody's in the onsen," he said softly. Kasumi kissed him gently and the two of them walked towards the lake. Neither of them saw Tenchi and Ryu-Ohki in her child-like form sneaking out of the house and head off towards the carrot fields.

**oOOOo**

"We should go back," Kasumi said softly. She didn't want to leave, laying there in the arms of the young man she loved so much and the warm water felt so great. Her legs had just stopped shaking, aftershocks from the orgasms her lover had given her. Ranma was slowly drifting off to sleep, a combination of the warm water and the wonderful sex induced exhaustion were taking their toll.

"Yeah, at least to see if the house is still standing," Ranma smirked and shrugged off the tiredness creeping through him.

Kasumi laughed, "I don't think Ayeka-hime and Ryoko-san would do anything too rash." Ranma laughed at that, she hadn't been around for one of their really bad fights. Those girls really knew how to throw down, and all he could do was run for cover with Sasami, Ryu-Ohki and Tenchi and hope for the best.

After getting out of the warm inviting pool, some petting and a make out session they finally dried each other off and got dressed. Hand in hand they went back to the house which was still standing, to Ranma's surprise. Everyone was outside watching Mihoshi clutch onto a rather uncomfortable looking green haired beauty. The young woman saw them coming and for a moment there was recognition in her eyes when she looked at Ranma. Ever keen of his surroundings, especially when he was with Kasumi, Ranma noticed the look and got that nervous feeling again.

"Oh, Ranma-niichan, Kasumi-neechan," Sasami said cheerfully upon seeing them. "This is Noike-neechan, Tenchi-niichan's iinazuke." Ranma wasn't usually prone to such feelings, but being in a more normal, assuming you could call Masaki-ke normal, environment did have a positive effect on him, and he smiled at the child princess' infectious cheerfulness.

"Oh my, its a honor to meet you," Kasumi said bowing demurely.

"Hi," Ranma said with a wave, but what he wanted to say was "Welcome to chaos ground zero." At least Tenchi was the one who was the center of attention in stead of him. Kasumi was all the attention he needed and desired.

Noike looked at him with that strange expression again then said, "Are you Saotome Ranma?" she asked him. His iinazuke early warning system just went to stage two of three.

Reluctantly he replied, "Uh, yeah."

"We've been watching you for a while now," she admitted to the surprise of everyone there including Ranma. "Despite earth's non-interference status we've been considering approaching you for special recruitment."

"Recruitment into what?" Ranma asked, his iinazuke early warning system alert was canceled but he was still wary.

"Into the Galaxy Police, of course." Noike said. Mihoshi became excited at the idea as did Kasumi and everyone else just looked on in surprise.

They retreated to the house and it immediately became apparent that Noike was not like the other girls in the house. She knew how to handle people and was manipulating Ayeka, Ryoko, and Mihoshi like they were kids and she was the older sister. It made Ranma want to laugh when Mihoshi came out of the kitchen crying that she'd been scolded for breaking a dish, and at dinner Ayeka and Ryoko were completely at this woman's mercy. It took all of his will power to keep from falling over laughing his ass off at the absurdity of it all. Noike seemed to really know how to take care of Mihoshi. As they talked he learned that they'd once been partners together in the GP, a position he didn't envy the poor woman.

As the waning light of the sun crept slowly below the distant mountains Ranma sat in the back with Tenchi helping him fix some the farming tools he used in the carrot fields. The young Saotome pounded out the dents in the metal as Tenchi held the tools against a large wooden block which was really a cut off tree stump. With his abnormally high strength Ranma was getting the dents out of the metal much faster than Tenchi could have done so by himself. Inevitably the engagement came up in their discussion.

"Guess I should say 'welcome to the club' buddy," said Ranma when he stopped to look at the edge of the hoe he was working on.

Tenchi sighed, he'd heard many tall tales about Ranma's life before he came to live with them. It wasn't that he didn't believe them, considering his own chaotic life, but he never imagined he be in the same situation.

"Thanks that makes me feel so much better," he replied sarcastically.

Ranma laughed, "At least it wasn't me this time." Tenchi just glared at him for a moment then laughed despite himself.

"Turn it over," Tenchi flipped the implement over and Ranma continued. "What the heck did you use this thing for, to break up rocks?" He banged out the last of the dents in the metal and examined the blade to make sure it was smooth, or at least as smooth as he could make it.

"This whole place has rich volcanic soil, but its also a little rocky," explained Tenchi. "I noticed that you and Kasumi have gotten a lot closer." Tenchi wasn't oblivious to things going on around him like certain other people, and he noticed the change. Before it had been subtle but recently it was pretty rapid.

"Ya noticed," Ranma replied. "Kasumi's special ya know. She's sweet and gentle like Sasami, but she's different. I don't know I can't really put it into words and stuff, but ... I love her. I'd do anything for her."

Tenchi could understand that, any man would have to be deaf, dumb, and blind not to fall for someone like his beautiful, demure cousin. "I wish I could make up my mind like that," said Tenchi.

"I don't envy you," Ranma said sincerely with an apologetic smile.

Tenchi smiled and said, "At least I only have 'one' iinazuke." Ranma winced, and admitted defeat for this round.

"For now," he said, not satisfied with letting the boy have the last salvo.

Tenchi looked around nervously, "Don't give them any ideas."

"This is a political engagement," said Tenchi with a sigh. "And to think I've got a big sister I knew nothing at all about. Things are going to get lively around here again."

Ranma looked up at that moment and noticed the young woman whom had been introduced as Tenchi's big sister watching them. In the short time he'd gotten to know her Ranma decided that he like Tennyo. She was like a mix between Kasumi and Akane in some ways, gentle and demure at minute then raging lion the next. He also liked Noike too, she was the same way and watching Ayeka and Ryoko squirm was priceless.

"Tenchi," she said in that gentle voice. "Would you like to take a walk with me?" And, Ranma, please come too, there is someone who wants to meet you."

**oOOOo**

The three walked together up the long winding stairs that ran up the mountainside to the Masaki shrine. Ranma walked slowly with the two, he could have easily reached the time in no time but decided to just this once walk normally. Often he ran up and down these long stairs for exercise. It was one of the reasons why he really like Masaki-ke so much, there were endless ways for him to train around here.

As they reached the top Ranma noticed Katsuhito standing with a very beautiful green haired woman who appeared to be a bit older than Tennyo. She embraced the old priest's arm until she saw them.

"Oh, Tenchi-chan," the green haired woman said. Guessing from her appearance Ranma assumed she was Tenchi grandmother. She looked nothing like the old ghoul, must be an alien thing.

"Um," Tenchi began, uncertain of what to say. "Its very nice to meet you baachan."

Ranma did not miss the sudden panicked look on Tennyo's face and her gasp of "Oh crap." The hairs on back of his head stood up on end and his instinct for self-preservation kicked in. Airi was no longer standing beside the old priest and was right up in Tenchi's face with an evil expression.

"Don't call me baachan!" she said menacingly. "Listen well, Tenchi-chan. Even if a young and sexy lady is you're mother's mother ... there's no she'd be happy being called 'grandma'". She stood with her arm around him patting him on the shoulder.

Tenchi looked towards his grandfather for support but the old priest was looking away indifferently. Staying out of it, eh, thought Ranma, the old man has brains.

"Uh, then what should I refer to you as?" he asked.

Airi clasped her hands together sweetly and said, "Lets see. How about Airi-neechan?"

"Eh!" Tennyo blurted and immediately regretted it as the green haired firecracker turned her angry gaze upon her. Ranma stepped back a little further, this woman was way too much like Akane for his comfort.

"What? Do you have a problem?" Airi asked in an irritated tone.

"Oh, no, no not that all," Tennyo replied with raised hands. "but Airi-sama, I'm the big sister."

"Oh, what's wrong with that?" Airi asked her. "A beautiful pair of sisters and their cute brother. It'll be perfect." She finished with a thumbs up pose.

"That would be bad," said Katsuhito. "but, wouldn't it be troublesome if Seto-sama found out you were having him call you 'oneechan'?"

A suddenly very alarmed look came to the woman's face before she said, "Well then, you can just call me 'Airi'."

"Ok, well then how about 'Airi-sama'?" Tenchi asked. Ranma senses were screaming at him to run but he stayed right where he was. He watched as Tenchi grandmother grabbed the boy up in her arms.

"What a cute little boy." she said lustily before suddenly tearing herself away breathing heavily. When she recovered she turned towards her grandson with a dismissive gesture. He could hear her say something about it being dangerous for Tenchi to call her that.

"You can just call me Airi-san." she laughed.

"I understand," Tenchi sighed.

That was when she focused her sights on Ranma making the boy feel rather uncomfortable. "So, this is the famous Saotome Ranma I've heard so much about." she said to him.

Ranma could only looked nervous and scratch the back of his head when he replied, "Hai."

**oOOOo**

Sometime later they were all in the Katsuhito's small apartment next to the shrine enjoying tea. The gathering was quiet. The two girls spoke for a while about Tenchi and how cute he looked when he'd been crying thinking Tennyo was his mother. The subject soon came around to the subject of the royal family and earth. Ranma listened to Katsuhito's explanation that the Masaki clan used earth as a place to raise their kids, they raised them as earthlings, and later told them the truth of their heritage. Most went into space and later returned to live out the rest of their lives here on this planet. Which meant there was more aliens than just these people living here in Japan, to Ranma's thinking.

As a part of his explanation Katsuhito lowered his disguise showing his true younger self underneath to Tenchi's utter surprise. Ranma though wasn't shocked at all.

"I was wondering when you were gonna lower that mask." he said.

Airi, Tennyo and Yosho looked at him in surprise. "What do you mean?" Yosho asked him.

"That disguise, I was wondering when you were gonna take it off." he replied.

"Wait a minute," said Airi. "Are you saying that you could see through his disguise. That shouldn't be possible."

Ranma shook his head. "Sorta, its like it wasn't completely there and stuff, and the thing made his aura go all weird too. That's what tipped me off."

"Wait, you can see people's aura?" Airi asked him.

"Yeah, I learned how a long time ago," Ranma explained. "Helps out in a fight a lot, and it helps me if I gotta fight in the dark."

Tennyo looked at Airi and asked, "Are we absolutely certain he's one hundred percent human?"

"Earth was once a colony of Jurai," Airi surmised. "If he is of Juraian descent he's not descended from noble blood because he doesn't have the power of the noble clan, but instead could be descended from one of the high clans who made earth their home for a short time. The high clans are rich well to do families who are not of noble lineage but have a lot of financial power on Jurai."

Ranma's eyebrow went up. "I'm part alien?" he asked.

"No," Tennyo shook her head. "Its only a guess. We've never encountered a earthling with any of the abilities that you have, which is why we've been watching you."

"There was one other earthling who was accepted into the Galaxy Police, by accident," said Airi. "That's a long story, but we have been keeping tabs on you and you've gotten our interest. I'd like for you to join the Galaxy Police." She saw the look on his face, he seemed to be mulling it over, it looked like there was hope that he wasn't going to turn the offer down.

"I don't expect an answer right away, I'll give you time to think it over, but don't wait too long." Airi added.

"Let me think it over," he said.

"Ok," Airi smiled.

**oOOOo**

Things calmed down considerably after Airi and Tennyo left. Well, they calmed down a little. Back in the house Ranma could hear Noike yelling at Mihoshi. He winced, glad that he wasn't the blond ditz. Kasumi squeezed his hand to reassure him. They sat together at the end of the wooden patio that stretch out over the water holding each other and looking up at the stars. It was a cloudless night and there were no street lights so you could see the hazy line of white clouds and stars that made up the Milky Way in the night sky.

"Kasumi-chan, what do you think about someday going out there?" Ranma asked Kasumi. He gestured towards the stars.

Kasumi laid her head on his shoulder and said, "I would love to go see the stars, if I can see them with you."

"I was offered something, and I still thinking about it but I might actually do it." he told her.

"You mean join the Galaxy Police?" Kasumi asked.

"Hai," he replied. "Before she left Airi said that she could pull some strings and make it so you could come with me."

"It would be a noble cause, Ranma." said Kasumi. "And you would still be protecting the weak."

Ranma kissed her forehead and said, "I didn't want to make up my mind until I talked to you about it first."

"I like the idea," Kasumi told him. "I think you should do it. Getting away from earth would give us a fresh start, and there would be no chance of running into someone whom you father promised in marriage to." That made Ranma wince.

"I haven't made up my mind yet," he said, but after what Kasumi just said he was really starting to like the idea. "But I think I'll do it. Lets not leave right away though, there are some things I want to do before we leave. I don't wanna leave, ya know, loose ends and stuff behind."

She kissed him and said, "Whatever you decide to to, wherever you decide to go I'll be right by your side. I love you, Ranma-chan."

He returned her kiss. "I love you too Kasumi-chan."

**oOOOo**

To be continued...

**Coming Soon Chapter 9 - "Operation Rescue Mizuho"**

Mizuho's people have discovered she's back on Earth and have kidnapped her. However, due to early warning devices setup by Washu their attempt to wipe the memories of those she knew including Kei failed. Tenchi, Ranma, Ayeka, Washu, Ryoko and the rest of the Masaki residence guests team up to rescue Mizuho from the Galactic Federation mothership in Earth orbit and put this issue to rest once and for all.


End file.
